Lately  Published, 
(Pages  XT.  and  184,  16mo;  Paper,  60  cts.  ;   Cloth,  63  cents,) 

SHoman's  i&tfjt  to 


LOW  WAGES  AND  HARD  WORK. 


THREE  LECTURES  BY  MRS.  C.  H.  BALL. 


I.    DEATH  OR  DISHONOR.      |      II.    VERIFY  TOUR  CREDENTIALS, 
in.    THE  OPENING  OF  THE  GATES. 


The  spirit  and  design  of  these  lectures  are  excellent.  —  London  Athenteum. 

It  is  crammed  with  facts.  Mrs.  Dall  has  done  in  this  book  what  has  not 
been  done  before,  and  what  was  wanted.  For  this  reason,  it  is  a  book  to  be 
bought,  kept,  referred  to,  and  lent.  —  Christian  Examiner. 

Mrs.  Ball's  explicitness,  directness,  and  earnestness  in  so  worthy  a  cause, 
claim  our  hearty  commendation.  — North-American  Review. 

The  author  tells  her  sad  tale  with  rare  refinement,  and  dignity  of  speech ; 
with  rare  force  and  clearness  also ;  and  with  so  earnest  and  pure  a  purpose, 
that  we  feel  its  moral  pressed  upon  us  with  resistless  force.  —  Unitarian 
Monthly. 

Literary  culture,  patient  industry,  and  an  earnest  spirit,  have  been 
brought  to  the  preparation  of  this  slight  volume.  The  author  has  written 
because  she  feels :  and  she  has  written  sensibly,  gracefully,  to  the  time,  and 
to  the  point.  —  Christian  Review. 

She  brings  her  unequalled  powers,  not  to  the  composition  of  essays  which 
would  not  be  tolerated  from  a  man,  but  to  the  laborious  collection  of  facts, 
to  faithful  induction  of  principles,  and  to  clear  and  brave  admonition.  In 
the  quality  of  her  work  she  stands  pre-eminent.  —  Chicago  Tribune. 

We  hope  this  book  will  be  read  by  every  family  in  the  land.  —  New-York 
Christian  Enquirer. 

Her  suggestions  are  enforced  by  a  variety  of  interesting  historical  and 
statistical  facts. —  New-York  Tribune. 

The  subject  so  ably  and  earnestly  discussed  by  Mrs.  Dall  is  one  of  the 
most  important,  and,  at  the  same  tune,  one  of  the  most  difficult  of  treat- 
ment. —  Dedham  Qazette. 

Her  views  are  illustrated  and  supported  by  an  array  of  facts  which  will 
surprise  those  who  have  not  looked  into  the  subject.  —  Worcester  Spy. 

The  evidences  of  a  kind  heart,  close_  observation,  faithful  labor,  and  clear, 
strong,  reasoning  faculties,  are  visible  in  this  little  book.  —  Montreal  Pilot. 

We  envy  not  the  moral  characteristics  of  the  man  whose  heart  this  little 
work  does  not  set  throbbing  with  sympathy.  — Jlntislavery  Standard. 

The  spirit  of  this  little  book  is  so  candid,  its  tone  so  earnest,  and  it  is  so 
interesting  with  curious  facts  and  comparisons,  that  it  challenges  the  atten- 
tion of  all  thoughtful  men  and  women.  —  O.  W.  Curtis,  in  Harpers'  Weekly. 

PUBLISHED    BY    WALKER,    "WISE,    &    CO., 

245,  WASHINGTON  STREET,  BOSTON. 


Just  Published, 
(Pages  xiii.  and  403, 16mo;  Cloth,  81,) 

HISTORICAL  PICTURES  RETOUCHED; 

&  Uolumc  of  JHfecellaiws. 

IN  TWO  PARTS.  —  PART  I.    STUDIES.     PART  II.    FANCIES. 


BY    MRS.    C.    H.    DALL, 
AUTHOR  OF  "WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOB." 


Probably  no  book  written  to  advance  the  cause  of  "  Woman's  Rights  "  can 
approach  this  in  the  number  of  names  adduced  in  proof  of  the  intellectual 
ability  of  women.  —  Boston  Transcript. 

They  are  full  of  tender  sentiment  and  a  delicate  imagination,  and  on  sub- 
jects that  must  interest  a  wide  circle.  —  Christian  Register.  \ 

Mrs.  Ball  writes  with  an  earnestness  and  candor  that  cannot  fail  to  make 
an  impression  even  on  the  most  obdurate  opponent  of  her  theory.  We  find 
too,  in  the  volume,  evidences  of  a  kind  and  gentle  heart,  with  a  spirit  of  firm  - 
ness  and  patience  that  marks  the  author  as  no  common  woman.  —  Home 
Journal. 

The  book  which  heads  this  paragraph  is  a  most  timely,  copious,  and  bril- 
liant contribution  to  the  history  and  literature  of  women.  The  author  is  a 
scholar  and  a  thinker.  Her  study  of  "  Aspasia  "  is  fresh  and  fine.  There  is 
a  glow  of  sincerity  and  purpose  in  the  book,  which  fuses  it  into  unity',  and 
leaves  a  most  womanly  impression.  —  Oeo.  Wm.  Curtis. 

Mrs.  Dall  has  carried  out  an  admirable  idea,  by  reviewing,  in  an  animated 
and  authentic  way,  many  names  and  characters,  times  and  incidents,  whereof 
nil  cultivated  persons  should  know  something.  The  book  is  sure  to  be  a  fa- 
vorite.—  H.  T.  Tiickerman. 

We  cordially  commend  the  book,  as  in  itself  an  interesting  contribution  to 
literature,  and  a  noble  plea  for  woman.  The  sketch  of  Dr.  Lowell,  with  which 
the  volume  concludes,  is  an  admirable  portrait  of  a  most  worthy  man.  —  Jfew- 
York  Independent. 

It  is  no  hasty  compilation.  It  is  eloquent  and  forcible  in  its  argument, 
unwavering  in  assertion  and  vindication,  yet  tender  And  pitiful  in  its  judg- 
ments. From  its  high  moral  tone,  and  deep  religious  earnestness,  it  cannot 
fail  to  do  good.  —  Montreal  Herald. 

The  book  is  full  of  fine,  clear  statement,  of  truth,  of  subtle  perceptions  and 
sympathies.  —  The  Dial. 

A  truly  excellent  and  valuable  work,  which  we  can  cordially  recommend.  — 
Unitarian  Montlily. 

It  is  her  best  work,  —  an  advance  on  the  last.  The  wine  is  more  mellow- 
That  had  to  be  drunk  hastily ;  its  bubbling  pathos  brought  disagreeable  mist 
into  the  eyes :  but  this  glass  we  can  hold  calmly  up,  and  watch  the  sunshine 
through  its  topaz  clearness.  —  Christian  Examiner. 

Mrs.  Dall's  style  is  exceedingly  pure  and  graceful ;  and  her  studies  have 
made  her  familiar  with  the  background  and  byways  of  history.  — Monthly 
Religious  Magazine. 

The  author  of  this  volume  has  thought  earnestly  and  well.  The  essays 
are  written  with  freshness  of  style,  and  vigor  and  independence  of  thought. 
The  volume  is  an  elegant  specimen  of  book-making.  —  Norfolk  Co.  Journal. 

PUBLISHED    BY    WALKER,    WISE,    &    CO, 

245,  WASHINGTON  STREET,  BOSTON 


'WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR;" 

OE, 

A  LETTER  FROM  MARIE  E.  ZAKRZEWSKA,  M.D. 

LATE    OF    BERLIN,   PRUSSIA. 
EDITED   BY 

CAROLINE  H.  BALL, 

AUTflOR  OP   "  WOMAS'S   RIGHT  TO  LABOR,"    "  HISTORICAL  PICTURES 
&£IOUCaED,"   &C.    &C. 


"  Whoso  cures  the  plague, 
Though  twice  a  woman,  shall  be  called  a  leech." 

"  And  witness :  she  who  did  this  thing  was  bora 
To  do  it  j  claims  her  license  in  her  work." 

AURORA  LEIGH. 


BOSTON: 
WALKER,   WISE,  AND   COMPANY, 

245,  WASHINGTON  STREET. 
1860. 


Gilt 

of 

Mrs.  S.F.Hughes 
-19, 1900. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1860, 

BY    WALKEE,    WISE,    AND    CO. 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of 
Massachusetts. 


BOSTON: 
PRINTED   BY  JOHN  WILSON  AND   SON, 

22,  SCHOOL  STREET. 


R 


HON.  SAMUEL  E.  SEWALL, 

FAITHFUL   ALWAT3    TO    "WOMEN    AND    WORK,"    AND    ONE    OP   THE    BEST 
FRIENDS    OP 

^t  ipefasKSnglsnb  ^wnale  ^.ebkal  Collegt, 

THE   EDITOR 
GRATEFULLY    DEDICATES    THIS    VOLUME. 


"  The  men  (who  are  prating,  too,  on  their  side)  cry, 
'  A  woman's  function  plainly  is  ...  to  talk.'  " 

"  What 

He  doubts  is,  whether  we  can  do  the  thing 
With  decent  grace  we've  not  yet  done  at  all. 
Now  do  it." 

"  Bring  your  statue: 
Ton  have  room." 

"  None  of  us  is  mad  enough  to  say 

We'll  have  a  grove  of  oaks  upon  that  slope, 
And  sink  the  need  of  acorns." 


PREFACE. 


IT  is  due  to  myself  to  say,  that  the  manner  in 
which  the  Autobiography  is  subordinated  to  the 
general  subject  in  the  present  volume,  and  also  the 
manner  in  which  it  is  veiled  by  the  title,  are  con- 
cessions to  the  modesty  of  her  who  had  the  best 
right  to  decide  in  what  fashion  I  should  profit  by 
her  goodness,  and  are  very  far  from  being  my 
own  choice. 

CAKOLINE  H.  DALL. 

49.  BRADFORD  STREET,  BOSTON, 
Oct.  30, 1860. 


at  Practical  Illustration 

• 

or 

"WOMAN'S    BIGHT    TO    LABOR" 


TT  never  happens  that  a  true  and  forcible  word  is 
spoken  for  women,  that,  however  faithless 
and  unbelieving  women  themselves  may  be,  some 
noble  men  do  not  with  heart  and  hand  attempt  to 
give  it  efficiency. 

If  women  themselves  are  hard  upon  their  own 
sex,  men  are  never  so  in  earnest.  They  realize 
more  profoundly  than  women  the  depth  of  affection 
and  self-denial  in  the  womanly  soul ;  and  they  feel 
also,  with  crushing  certainty,  the  real  significance 
of  the  obstacles  they  have  themselves  placed  in 
woman's  way. 

Reflecting  men  are  at  this  moment  ready  to  help 

women  to  enter  wider  fields  of  labor,  because,  on 

the  one  side,  the  destitution  and  vice  they  have 

helped  to  create  appalls  their  consciousness ;  and, 

1 


2  A  PRACTICAL  ILLUSTRATION  OF 

on  the  other,  a  profane  inanity  stands  a  perpetual 
blasphemy  in  the  face  of  the  Most  High. 

I  do  not  exaggerate.  Every  helpless  woman  is 
such  a  blasphemy.  So,  indeed,  Js  every  helpless 
man,  where  helplessness  is  not  born  of  idiocy  or 
calamity  ;  but  society  neither  expects,  provides  for, 
nor  defends,  helpless  men. 

So  it  happened,  that,  after  the  publication  of 
"Woman's  Right  to  Labor,"  generous  men  came 
forward  to  help  me  carry  out  my  plans.  The  best 
printer  in  Boston  said,  "  I  am  willing  to  take 
women  into  my  office  at  once,  if  you  can  find 
women  who  will  submit  to  an  apprenticeship  like 
men."  On  the  same  conditions,  a  distinguished 
chemist  offered  to  take  a  class  of  women,  and  train 
them  to  be  first-class  apothecaries  or  scientific  ob- 
servers, as  they  might  choose.  To  these  offers 
there  were  no  satisfactory  responses.  "  Yes,"  said 
the  would-be  printers,  "  we  will  go  into  an  .office 
for  six  months  ;  but,  by  that  time,  our  oldest  sisters 
will  be  married,  and  our  mothers  will  want  us  at 
home." 

"  An  apprenticeship  of  six  years ! "  exclaimed 
the  young  lady  of  a  chemical  turn.  "  I  should  like 
to  learn  very  much,  so  that  I  could  be  a  chemist, 
if  I  ever  had  to ;  but  poison  myself  for  six  years 


"WOMAN'S  BIGHT  TO  LABOR."  3 

over  those  'fumes,'  not  I."  It  is  easy  to  rail 
against  society  and  men  in  general :  but  it  is  very 
painful  for  a  woman  to  confess  her  heaviest  obsta- 
cle to  success  ;  namely,  the  weakness  of  women. 
The  slave  who  dances,  unconscious  of  degrada- 
tion, on  the  auction-block,  is  at  once  the  greatest 
stimulus  and  the  bitterest  discouragement  of  the 
antislavery  reformer  :  so  women,  contented  in 
ignominious  dependence,  restless  even  to  insanity 
from  the  need  of  healthy  emplpyment  and  the 
perversion  of  their  instincts,  and  confessedly  look- 
ing to  marriage  for  salvation,  are  at  once  a  stimu- 
lus to  exertion,  and  an  obstacle  in  our  way.  But 
no  kind,  wise  heart  will  heed  this  obstacle.  Having 
spoken  plain  to  society,  having  won  the  sympathy 
of  men,  let  us  see  if  we  cannot  compel  the  attention 
of  these  well-disposed  but  thoughtless  damsels. 

"  Six  years  out  of  the  very  bloom  of  our  lives  to 
be  spent  in  the  printing-office  or  the  laboratory ! " 
exclaim  the  dismayed  band ;  and  they  flutter  out 
of  reach  along  the  sidewalks  of  Beacon  Street,  or 
through  the  mazes  of  the  "  Lancers." 

But  what  happens  ten  years  afterward,  when, 
from  twenty -six  to  thirty,  they  find  themselves 
pushed  off  the  pave,  or  left  to  blossom  on  the  wall  ? 
Desolate,  because  father  and  brother  have  died; 


4  A  PRACTICAL  ILLUSTRATION   OF 

disappointed,  because  well-founded  hopes  of  a  home 
or  a  "  career"  have  failed ;  impoverished,  because 
they  depended  on  strength  or  means  that  are  bro- 
ken, —  what  have  they  now  to  say  to  the  printing- 
office  or  the  apothecary's  shop  ?  They  enter  both 
gladly ;  with  quick  woman's  wit,  learning  as  much 
in  six  months  as  men  would  in  a  year  ;  but  grum- 
bling and  discontented,  that,  in  competing  with 
men  who  have  spent  their  whole  lives  in  preparation, 
they  can  only  be  paid  at  half-wages.  What  does 
common  sense  demand,  if  not  that  women  should 
make  thorough  preparation  for  trades  or  profes- 
sions ;  and,  having  taken  up  a  resolution,  should 
abide  by  all  its  consequences  like  men  ? 

Before  cases  like  these  my  lips  are  often  sealed, 
and  my  hands  drop  paralyzed.  Not  that  they  alter 
God's  truth,  or  make  the  duty  of  protest  against 
existing  wrong  any  less  incumbent :  but  they  obscure 
the  truth  ;  they  needlessly  complicate  the  duty. 

Perplexed  and  anxious,  I  have  often  felt  that 
what  I  needed  most  was  an  example  to  set  before 
young  girls,  —  an  example  not  removed  by  su- 
periority of  station,  advantage  of  education,  or 
unwonted  endowment,  beyond  their  grasp  and  imi- 
tation. 

There  was  Florence  Nightingale.     But  her  fa- 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  5 

ther  had  a  title :  it  was  fair  to  presume  that  her 
opportunities  were  titled  also.  All  the  girls  I  knew 
wished  they  could  have  gone  to  the  Crimea  ;  while 
I  was  morally  certain,  that  the  first  amputation 
would  have  turned  them  all  faint.  There  was 
Dorothea  Dix :  she  had  money  and  time.  It  was 
not  strange  that  she  had  great  success  ;  for  she 
started,  a  monomaniac  in  philanthropy,  from  the 
summit  of  personal  independence.  Mrs.  John  Stuart 
Mill :  had  she  ever  wanted  bread  ?  George  Sand : 
the  woman  wasn't  respectable.  In  short,  whomso- 
ever I  named,  who  had  pursued  with  undeviating 
perseverance  a  worthy  career,  my  young  friends 
had  their  objections  ready.  No  one  had  ever 
been  so  poor,  so  ill  educated,  so  utterly  without 
power  to  help  herself,  as  they  ;  and,  provoking  as 
these  objections  were,  I  felt  that  they  had  force. 
My  young  friends  were  not  great  geniuses :  they 
were  ordinary  women,  who  should  enter  the  ordi- 
nary walks  of  life  with  the  ordinary  steadfastness 
and  devotion  of  men  in  the  same  paths ;  nothing 
more.  What  I  wanted  was  an  example,  —  not  too 
stilted  to  be  useful,  —  a  life  flowing  out  of  circum- 
stances not  dissimilar  to  their  own,  but  marked  by 
a  steady  will,  an  unswerving  purpose.  As  I  looked 
back  over  my  own  life,  and  wished  I  could  read 


6  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF. 

them  its  lessons, — and  I  looked  back  a  good  way; 
for  I  was  very  young,  when  the  miserable  destitu- 
tion of  a  drunkard's  wife,  whom  I  assisted,  showed 
me  how  comfortable  a  thing  it  was  to  rest  at  the 
mercy  of  the  English  common  law,  —  as  I  looked 
back  over  my  long  interest  in  the  position  of  woman, 
I  felt  that  my  greatest  drawback  had  been  the  want 
of  such  an  example.  Every  practical  experiment 
that  the  world  recorded  had  been  made  under  such 
peculiar  circumstances,  or  from  such  a  fortuitous 
height,  that  it  was  at  once  rejected  as  a  lesson. 

One  thing  I  felt  profoundly :  as  men  sow  they 
must  reap ;  and  so  must  women.  The  practical 
misery  of  the  world  —  its  terrible  impurity  will 
never  be  abated  till  women  prepare  themselves 
from  their  earliest  years  to  enter  the  arena  of 
which  they  are  ambitious,  and  stand  there  at  last 
mature  and  calm,  but,  above  all,  thoroughly  trained; 
trained  also  at  the  side  of  the  men,  with  whom 
they  must  ultimately  work  ;  and  not  likely,  there- 
fore, to  lose  balance  or  fitness  by  being  thrown,  at 
the  last  moment,  into  unaccustomed  relations.  A 
great  deal  of  nonsense  has  been  talked  lately  about 
the  unwillingness  of  women  to  enter  the  reading- 
room  of  the  Cooper  Institute,  where  men  also 
resort. 


"WOMAN'S   EIGHT   TO   LABOR."  7 

"  A  -woman's  library,"  in  any  city,  is  one  of  the 
partial  measures  that  I  deprecate  :  so  I  only  par- 
tially rejoice  over  the  late  establishment  of  such  a 
library  in  New  York.  I  look  upon  it  as  one  of 
those  half-measures  which  must  be  endured  in  the 
progress  of  any  desired  reform ;  and,  while  I  wish 
the  Cooper  Institute  and  its  reading-room  God- 
speed with  every  fibre  of  my  consciousness,  I  have 
no  words  with  which  to  express  my  shame  at  the 
mingled  hypocrisy  and  indelicacy  of  those  who  ob- 
ject to  use  it.  What  woman  stays  at  home  from 
a  ball  because  she  will  meet  men  there  ?  What 
woman  refuses  to  walk  Broadway  in  the  presence 
of  the  stronger  sex  ?  What  woman  refuses  to  buy 
every  article  of  her  apparel  from  the  hands  of  a 
man,  or  to  let  the  woman's  tailor  or  shoemaker 
take  the  measure  of  her  waist  or  foot ;  try  on  and 
approve  her  coiffure  or  bernouse  ? 

What  are  we  to  think,  then,  of  the  delicacy  which 
shrinks  from  the  reading-room  frequented  by  men ; 
which  discovers  so  suddenly  that  magazines  are 
more  embarrassing  than  mazourkas  ;  that  to  read 
in  a  cloak  and  hat  before  a  man  is  more  indelicate 
than  to  waltz  in  his  presence  half  denuded  by 
fashion  ? 

Of  course,  we  are  to  have  no  patience  with  it, 


8  A   PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

and  to  refuse  utterly  to  entertain  a  remonstrance  so 
beneath  propriety. 

The  object  of  my  whole  life  has  been  to  inspire 
in  women  a  desire  for  thorough  training  to  some 
special  end,  and  a  willingness  to  share  the  training 
of  men  both  for  specific  and  moral  reasons.  Only 
by  sharing  such  training  can  women  be  sure  that 
they  will  be  well  trained  ;  only  by  God-ordained, 
natural  communion  of  all  men  and  women  can  the 
highest  moral  results  be  reached. 

"Free  labor  and  free  society: "  I  have  said  often 
to  myself,  in  these  two  phrases  lies  hidden  the 
future  purification  of  society.  When  men  and 
women  go  everywhere  together,  the  sights  they 
dare  not  see  together  will  no  longer  exist. 

Fair  and  serene  wfll  rise  before  them  all  heights 
of  possible  attainment ;  and,  looking  off  over  the 
valleys  of  human  endeavor  together,  they  will  clear 
the  forest,  drain  the  morass,  and  improve  the  in- 
terval, stirred  by  a  common  impulse. 

When  neither  has  any  thing  to  hide  from  the 
other,  no  social  duty  will  seem  too  difficult  to  be 
undertaken ;  and,  when  the  interest  of  each  sex  is 
to  secure  the  purity  of  the  other,  neither  religion 
nor  humanity  need  despair  of  the  result. 

It  was  while  fully  absorbed  in   thoughts   and 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  9 

purposes  like  these,  that,  in  the  autumn  of  1856,  I 
first  saw  Marie  Zakrzewska.*  During  a  short  visit 
to  Boston  (for  she  was  then  resident  in  New  York) , 
a  friend  brought  her  before  a  physiological  institute, 
and  she  addressed  its  members. 

She  spoke  to  them  of  her  experience  in  the  hos- 
pital at  Berlin,  and  showed  that  the  most  sinning, 
suffering  woman  never  passed  beyond  the  reach  of 
a  woman's  sympathy  and  help.  She  had  not,  at 
that  time,  thoroughly  mastered  the  English  lan- 
guage ;  though  it  was  quite  evident  that  she  was 
fluent,  even  to  eloquence,  in  German.  Now  and 
then,  a  word  failed  her  ;  and,  with  a  sort  of  indig- 
nant contempt  at  the  emergency,  she  forced  unac- 
customed words  to  do  her  service,  with  an  adroit- 
ness and  determination  that  I  never  saw  equalled. 
I  got  from  it  a  new  revelation  of  the  power  of  the 
English  language.  She  illustrated  her  noble  and 
nervous  thoughts  with  incidents  from  her  own  ex- 
perience, one  of  which  was  told  in  a  manner  which 
impressed  it  for  ever  on  my  consciousness. 

"  Soon  after  I  entered  the  hospital,"  said  Marie, 
"  the  nurse  called  me  to  a  ward  where  sixteen  of 
the  most  forlorn  objects  had  begun  to  fight  with 

*  Pronounced  Zak-shef-ska. 


10  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OP 

each  other.  The  inspector  and  the  young  physi- 
cians had  been  called  to  them,  but  dared  not  enter 
the  melee.  When  I  arrived,  pillows,  chairs,  foot- 
stools, and  vessels  had  deserted  their  usual  places ; 
and  one  stout  little  woman,  with  rolling  eyes  and 
tangled  hair,  lifted  a  vessel  of  slops,  which  she 
threatened  to  throw  all  over  me,  as  she  exclaimed, 
'  Don't  dare  to  come  here,  you  green  young  thing ! ' 

"  I  went  quietly  towards  her,  saying  gently,  '  Be 
ashamed,  my  dear  woman,  of  your  fury.' 

"  Her  hands  dropped.  Seizing  me  by  the  shoul- 
der, she  exclaimed, '  You  don't  mean  that  you  look 
on  me  as  a  woman  ? ' 

"  '  How  else  ? '  I  answered  ;  while  she  retreated 
to  her  bed,  all  the  rest  standing  in  the  attitudes 
into  which  passion  had  thrown  them. 

'"Arrange  your  beds,'  I  said;  'and  in  fifteen 
minutes  let  me  return,  and  find  every  thing  right.' 
When  I  returned,  all  was  as  I  had  desired  ;  every 
woman  standing  at  her  bedside.  The  short  woman 
was  missing ;  but,  bending  on  each  a  friendly 
glance,  I  passed  through  the  ward,  which  never 
gave  me  any  more  trouble. 

"When,  late  at  night,  I  entered  my  room,  it 
was  fragrant  with  violets.  A  green  wreath  sur- 
rounded an  old  Bible,  and  a  little  bouquet  rested 


"WOMAN'S  EIGHT  TO  LABOR."  11 

upon  it.  I  did  not  pause  to  speculate  over  this 
sentimentality,  but  threw  myself  weary  upon  the 
bed ;  when  a  light  tap  at  the  door  startled  me. 
The  short  woman  entered ;  and  humbling  herself 
on  the  floor,  since  she  would  not  sit  in  my  pre- 
sence, entreated  to  be  heard. 

"  '  You  called  me  a  woman,'  she  said,  '  and  you 
pity  us.  Others  call  us  by  the  name  the  world 
gives  us.  You  would  help  us,  if  help  were  possible. 
All  the  girls  love  you,  and  are  ashamed  before 
you ;  and  therefore  J  hate  you  —  no  :  I  will  not 
hate  you  any  longer.  There  was  a  time  when 
I  might  have  been  saved,  —  I  and  Joanna  and 
Margaret  and  Louise.  "We  were  not  bad.  Listen 
to  me.  If  you  say  there  is  any  hope,  I  will  yet  be 
an  honest  woman.' 

"  She  had  had  respectable  parents  ;  and,  when 
twenty  years  old,  was  deserted  by  her  lover,  who 
left  her  three  months  pregnant.  Otherwise  kind, 
her  family  perpetually  reproached  her  with  her 
disgrace,  and  threatened  to  send  her  away.  At 
last,  she  fled  to  Berlin  ;  keeping  herself  from  utter 
starvation,  by  needlework.  In  the  hospital  to  which 
she  went  for  confinement,  she  took  the  small-pox. 
When  she  came  out,  with  her  baby  in  her  arms, 
her  face  was  covered  with  red  blotches.  Not  even 


12  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

the  lowest  refuge  was  open  to  her,  her  appearance 
was  so  frightful.  With  her  baby  dragging  at  her 
empty  breast,  she  wandered  through  the  streets. 
An  old  hag  took  pity  on  both ;  and,  carefully 
nursed  till  health  returned,  her  good  humor  and 
native  wit  made  those  about  her  forget  her  ugly 
face.  She  was  in  a  brothel,  where  she  soon  took 
the  lead.  Her  child  died,  and  she  once  more 
attempted  to  earn  her  living  as  a  seamstress.  She 
was  saved  from  starvation  only  by  her  employer, 
who  received  her  as  his  mistress.  Now  her 
luck  changed  :  she  suffered  all  a  woman  could  ; 
handled  poison  and  the  firebrand.  *  I  thought  of 
stealing,'  she  said,  '  only  as  an  amusement :  it  was 
not  exciting  enough  for  a  trade.'  She  found  her- 
self in  prison  ;  and  was  amused  to  be  punished  for 
a  trifle,  when  nobody  suspected  her  crime.  It  was 
horrible  to  listen  to  these  details ;  more  horrible 
to  witness  her  first  repentance. 

"  When  I  thanked  her  for  her  violets,  she  kissed 
my  hands,  and  promised  to  be  good. 

"  While  she  remained  in  the  hospital,  I  took  her 
as  my  servant,  and  trusted  every  thing  to  her ; 
and,  when  finally  discharged,  she  went  out  to  ser- 
vice. She  wished  to  come  with  me  to  America. 
I  could  not  bring  her  ;  but  she  followed,  and, 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  13 

when   I  was   in   Cleveland,   inquired  for   me   in 
New  York." 

It  will  be  impossible,  for  those  who  have  not 
heard  such  stories  from  the  lips  and  in  the  dens 
of  the  sufferers,  to  feel  as  I  felt  when  this  dropped 
from  the  pure  lips  of  the  lecturer.  For  the  first 
time  I  saw  a  woman  who,  knew  what  I  knew,  felt 
what  I  felt,  and  was  strong  in  purpose  and  power 
to  accomplish  our  common  aim,  —  the  uplifting 
of  the  fallen,  the  employment  of  the  idle,  and  the 
purification  of  society. 

I  needed  no  farther  introduction  to  Marie  Zakr- 
zewska.  I  knew  nothing  of  her  previous  history 
or  condition  ;  but  when  I  looked  upon  her  clear, 
broad  forehead,  I  saw  " Faithful  unto  death"  bound 
across  it  like  a  phylactery.  I  did  not  know  how 
many  years  she  had  studied ;  but  I  saw  thorough- 
ness ingrained  into  her  very  muscle.  I  asked  no 
questions  of  the  clear,  strong  gaze  that  pierced  the 
assembly  ;  but  I  felt  very  sure  that  it  could  be 
as  tender  as  it  was  keen.  For  the  first  time  I  saw 
a  woman  in  a  public  position,  about  whom  I  felt 
thoroughly  at  ease ;  competent  to  all  she  had 
undertaken,  and  who  had  undertaken  nothing 
whose  full  relations  to  her  sex  and  society  she 
did  not  understand. 


14  A   PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

I  thanked  God  for  the  sight,  and  very  little 
thought  that  I  should  see  her  again.  She  came 
once  more,  and  we  helped  her  to  establish  the 
Women's  Infirmary  in  New  York ;  again,  and  we 
installed  her  as  Resident  Physician  in  the  New- 
England  Female  Medical  College. 

I  had  never  felt  any  special  interest  in  this 
college.  I  was  willing  it  should  exist  as  one  of 
the  half-way  measures  of  which  I  have  spoken,  — 
like  the  reading-room  in  New  York ;  but  I  was 
bent  on  opening  the  colleges  which  already  existed 
to  women,  and  I  left  it  to  others  to  nurse  the  young 
life  of  this.  The  first  medical  men,  I  felt  assured, 
would  never,  in  the  present  state  of  public  opinion, 
take  an  interest  in  a  female  college  ;  and  I  desired, 
above  all  things,  to  protect  women  from  second-rate 
instruction. 

But,  when  Marie  Zakrzewska  took  up  her  resi- 
dence in  Springfield  Street,  it  was  impossible  to  feel 
indifferent.  Here  was  a  woman  born  to  inspire 
faith ;  meeting  all  men  as  her  equals  till  they 
proved  themselves  superior ;  capable  of  spreading 
a  contagious  fondness  for  the  study  of  medicine,  as 
Dr.  Black  once  kindled  a  chemical  enthusiasm  in 
Edinburgh. 

Often  did  I  ponder  her  past  life,  which  had  left 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  15 

significant  lines  on  face  and  form.  "We  met  seldom, 
—  always  with  perfect  trust.  Whatever  I  might 
have  to  say,  I  should  have  felt  sure  of  being 
understood,  if  I  had  not  seen  her  for  six  months ; 
nor  could  she  have  failed  to  find  a  welcome  in  my 
heart  for  any  words  of  hers. 

Then  I  heard  the  course  of  lectures  which  she 
delivered  to  ladies  in  the  spring  of  1860.  For  the 
first  time,  I  heard  a  woman  speak  of  scientific  sub- 
jects in  a  way  that  satisfied  me ;  nor  should  I  have 
blushed  to  find  scientific  men  among  her  audience. 
I  had  felt,  from  the  first,  that  her  life  might 
do  what  my  words  never  could  :  namely,  inspire 
women  with  faith  to  try  their  own  experiments ; 
give  them  a  dignity,  which  should  refuse  to  look 
forward  to  marriage  as  an  end,  while  it  would 
lead  them  to  accept  it  gladly  as  a  providential  help. 
I  did  not  fear  that  she  would  be  untrue  to  her 
vocation,  or  easily  forsake  it  for  a  more  domestic 
sphere.  She  had  not  entered  it,  I  could  see,  without 
measuring  her  own  purpose  and  its  use. 

It  was  with  such  feelings,  and  such  knowledge 
of  Marie,  that  in  a  private  conversation,  last  sum- 
mer, with  Miss  Mary  L.  Booth  of  New  York,  I 
heard  with  undisguised  pleasure  that  she  had  in 
her  possession  an  autobiography  of  her  friend,  in 


16  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OP 

the  form  of  a  letter.  I  really  longed  to  get  posses- 
sion of  that  letter  so  intensely,  that  I  dared  not 
ask  to  see  it :  but  I  urged  Miss  Booth  to  get  con- 
sent to  its  publication  ;  "  for,"  I  said,  "  no  single 
thing  will  help  my  work,  I  am  convinced,  so  much." 

"  I  look  forward  to  its  publication,"  she  replied, 
"  with  great  delight :  it  will  be  the  sole  labor  of 
love,  of  my  literary  life.  But  neither  you  nor  I 
believe  in  reputations  which  death  and  posterity 
have  not  confirmed.  What  reasons  could  I  urge 
to  Marie  for  its  present  publication  ?  " 

"The  good  of  her  own  sex,"  I  replied,  "and  a 
better  knowledge  of  the  intimate  relations  existing 
between  free  labor  and  a  pure  society.  I  know 
nothing  of  our  friend's  early  circumstances  ;  but  I 
cannot  be  mistaken  in  the  imprint  they  have  left. 
This  is  one  of  those  rare  cases,  in  which  a  life  may 
belong  to  the  public  before  it  has  closed." 

I  returned  to  Boston.  Later  in  the  season, 
Miss  Booth  visited  Dr.  Zakrzewska.  Imagine  my 
surprise  when  she  came  to  me  one  day,  and  laid 
before  me  the  coveted  manuscript.  "It  is  yours," 
she  said,  "  to  publish  if  you  choose.  I  have  got 
Marie's  consent.  She  gave  it  very  reluctantly ; 
but  her  convictions  accord  with  yours,  and  she 
does  not  think  she  has  any  right  to  refuse.  As 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  17 

for  me,"  Miss  Booth  continued,  "  I  resign  without 
regret  my  dearest  literary  privilege,  because  I  feel 
that  the  position  you  have  earned  in  reference  to 
'woman's  labor'  entitles  you  to  edit  it." 

In  an  interview  which  I  afterwards  held  with 
Marie  Zakrzewska,  she  gave  me  to  understand, 
that,  had  she  been  of  American  birth,  she  would 
never  have  consented  to  the  publication  of  her 
letter  in  her  lifetime.  "  But,"  she  said,  "  I  am  a 
foreigner.  You  who  meet  me  and  sustain  me  are 
entitled  to  know  something  of  my  previous  history. 
Those  whom  I  most  loved  are  dead  ;  not  a  word 
of  the  record  can  pain  them ;  not  a  word  but  may 
help  some  life  just  now  beginning.  It  will  make  a 
good  sequel  to  '  Woman's  Right  to  Labor.' " 

"  Only  too  good,"  I  thought.  "  May  God  bless 
the  lesson ! " 

It  was  agreed  between  Miss  Booth  and  myself, 
that  the  autobiography  should  keep  its  original, 
simple  form,  to  indicate  how  and  why  it  was 
written :  so  I  invite  my  friends  to  read  it  at  once 
with  me.  Here  is  something  as  entertaining  as  a 
novel,  and  as  useful  as  a  treatise.  Here  is  a  story 
which  must  enchant  the  conservative,  while  it  in- 
spires the  reformer.  The  somewhat  hazy  forms 
of  Drs.  Schmidt  and  Muller,  the  king's  order  to 
2 


18  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

the  rebellious  electors,  the  historic  prestige  of  a 
Prussian  locality,  —  all  these  will  lend  a  magic 
charm  to  the  plain  lesson  which  New  York  and 
Boston  need. 


NEW  YORK,  September,  1857. 
DEAR  MART, 

It  is  especially  for  your  benefit  that  I  write 
these  fapts  of  my  life.  I  am  not  a  great  personage, 
either  through  inherited  qualifications  or  the  work 
that  I  have  to  show  to  the  world ;  yet  you  may 
find,  in  reading  this  little  sketch,  that  with  few 
talents,  and  very  moderate  means  for  developing 
them,  I  have  accomplished  more  than  many  women 
of  genius  and  education  would  have  done  in  my 
place,  for  the  reason  that  confidence  and  faith  in 
their  own  powers  were  wanting.  And,  for  this 
reason,  I  know  that  this  story  might  be  of  use  to 
others,  by  encouraging  those  who  timidly  shrink 
from  the  field  of  action,  though  endowed  with  all 
that  is  necessary  to  enable  them  to  come  forth  and 
do  their  part  in  life.  The  fact  that  a  woman  of 
no  extraordinary  powers  can  make  her  way  by  the 
simple  determination,  that  whatever  she  can  do 


"WOMAN'S  EIGHT  TO  LABOR."  19 

she  will  do,  must  inspire  those  who  are  fitted  to 
do  much,  yet  who  do  nothing  because  they  are  not 
accustomed  to  determine  and  decide  for  themselves. 

I  do  not  intend  to  weary  you  with  details  of  my 
childhood,  as  I  think  that  children  are  generally 
very  uninteresting  subjects  of  conversation  to  any 
except  their  parents,  who  naturally  discover  what 
is  beautiful  and  attractive  in  them,  and  appreciate 
what  is  said  in  correspondence  with  their  own 
feelings.  I  shall,  therefore,  only  tell  you  a  few  facts 
of  this  period  of  my  life,  which  I  think  absolutely 
necessary  to  illustrate  my  character  and  nature. 

I  was  born  in  Berlin,  Prussia,  on  the  6th  of 
September,  1829  ;  and  am  the  eldest  of  a  family 
of  five  sisters  and  one  brother.  My  early  child- 
hood passed  happily,  though  heavy  clouds  of  sorrow 
and  care  at  times  overshadowed  our  family  circle. 
I  was  of  a  cheerful  disposition ;  and  was  always 
in  good  humor,  even  when  sick.  I  was  quiet  and 
gentle  in  all  my  amusements  :  my  chief  delight 
consisting  in  telling  stories  to  my  sister,  one  year 
younger  than  myself,  who  was  always  glad  to  listen 
to  these  products  of  my  imagination,  which  were 
wholly  original  ;  for-  no  stories  were  told  me, 
nor  had  I  any  children's  books.  My  heroes  and 
heroines  were  generally  distinguished  for  some 


20  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

mental  peculiarity,  —  being  kind  or  cruel,  active 
or  indolent,  —  which  led  them  into  all  sorts  of  ad- 
ventures till  it  suited  my  caprice  to  terminate  their 
career.  In  all  our  little  affairs,  I  took  the  lead, 
planning  and  directing  every  thing ;  while  my 
playmates  seemed  to  take  it  for  granted,  that  it 
was  their  duty  to  carry  out  my  commands. 

My  memory  is  remarkable  in  respect  to  events 
that  occurred  at  this  time,  while  it  always  fails  to 
recall  dates  and  names.  When  twenty  years  of  age, 
I  asked  my  father  what  sort  of  a  festival  he  took  me 
to  once,  in  company  with  a  friend  of  his  with  only 
one  arm,  when  we  walked  through  meadows  where 
daisies  were  blossoming  in  millions,  and  where  we 
rode  in  carriages  that  went  round  continually  until 
they  were  wound  up.  My  father  answered,  with 
much  surprise,  that  it  was  a  public  festival  of 
the  cabinet-makers,  which  was  celebrated  in  a 
neighboring  village  ;  and  that  I  was,  at  that  time, 
only  nineteen  months  old. 

He  was  so  much  interested  in  my  story,  that 
I  related  another  of  my  memories.  One  dark 
morning,  my  mother  wakened  me,  and  hastened 
my  dressing.  After  this  was  accomplished,  she 
handed  me  a  cup  of  something  which  I  had  never 
tasted  before,  and  which  was  as  disagreeable  as 


"WOMAN'S  EIGHT  TO  LABOR."  21 

assafoetida  in  later  years.  This  was  some  coffee, 
which  I  had  to  take  instead  of  my  usual  milk. 
Then  I  went  with  my  father  to  the  large  park 
called  Thiergarten,  where  we  saw  the  sun  rise.  I 
began  to  spring  about ;  looking  at  the  big  oaks 
which  seemed  to  reach  into  the  heavens,  or  stooping 
down  to  pluck  a  flower.  Birds  of  all  kinds  were 
singing  in  chorus,  while  the  flower-beds  surround- 
ing the  statue  of  Flora  scented  the  pure  morning  air 
with  the  sweetest  of  perfumes.  The  sun  ascended, 
meanwhile,  from  the  edge  of  a  little  pond  covered 
with  water-lilies.  I  was  intoxicated  with  joy.  The 
feeling  of  that  morning  is  as  fresh  to-day  as  when 
I  related  this  to  my  father.  I  know  I  walked  till  I 
got  fairly  tired,  and  we  reached  a  solitary  house 
beyond  the  park.  Probably  fatigue  took  entire 
possession  of  me ;  for  I  remember  nothing  more 
till  we  were  on  our  way  home,  and  the  sun  was 
setting.  Then  I  begged  for  some  large  yellow 
plums  which  I  saw  in  the  stores.  My  father 
bought  some,  but  gave  me  only  a  few ;  while  I  had 
a  desire  for  all,  and  stole  them  secretly  from  his 
pockets  ;  so  that,  when  we  reached  home,  I  had 
eaten  them  all.  I  was  sick  after  I  went  to  bed, 
and  remember  taking  some  horrible  stuff  the  next 
morning  (probably  rhubarb) ;  thus  ending  the  day, 


22  A   PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

which  had  opened  so  poetically,  in  rather  a  prosaic 
manner.  When  I  repeated  this,  my  parents  laughed, 
and  said  that  I  was  only  twenty-six  months  old, 
when  my  father's  pride  in  his  oldest  child  induced 
him  to  take  me  on  this  visit ;  when  I  walked  the 
whole  way,  which  was  about  nine  miles.  These 
anecdotes  are  worth  preserving,  only  because  they 
indicate  an  impressionable  nature,  and  great  per- 
sistence of  muscular  endurance.  It  is  peculiar, 
that  between  these  two  events,  and  a  third  which 
occurred  a  year  after,  every  thing  should  be  a 
blank. 

A  little  brother  was  then  born  to  me,  and  lay 
undressed  upon  a  cushion,  while  my  father  cried 
with  sobs.  I  had  just  completed  my  third  year, 
and  could  not  understand  why,  the  next  day,  this 
little  thing  was  carried  off  in  a  black  box. 

From  that  time,  I  remember  almost  every  day's 
life. 

I  very  soon  began  to  manifest  the  course  of  my 
natural  tendencies.  Like  most  little  girls,  I  was 
well  provided  with  dolls  ;  and,  on  the  day  after 
a  new  one  came  into  my  possession,  I  generally 
discovered  that  the  dear  little  thing  was  ill,  and 
needed  to  be  nursed  and  doctored.  Porridges 
and  teas  were  accordingly  cooked  on  my  little  toy 


"WOMAN'S  EIGHT  TO  LABOR."  23 

stove,  and  administered  to  the  poor  doll,  until  the 
papier-mache  was  thoroughly  saturated  and  broken; 
when  she  was  considered  dead,  and  preparations 
were  made  for  her  burial,  —  this  ceremony  being 
repeated  over  and  over  again.  White  dresses 
were  put  on  for  the  funeral ;  a  cricket  was  turned 
upside-down  to  serve  as  the  coffin;  my  mother's 
flower-pots  furnished  the  green  leaves  for  decora- 
tion ;  and  I  delivered  the  funeral  oration  in  praise 
of  the  little  sufferer,  while  placing  her  in  the  tomb 
improvised  of  chairs.  I  hardly  ever  joined  the  other 
children  in  their  plays,  except  upon  occasions  like 
these,  when  I  appeared  in  the  characters  of  doctor, 
priest,  and  undertaker  ;  generally  improving  the 
opportunity  to  moralize ;  informing  my  audience, 
that  Ann  (the  doll)  had  died  in  consequence  of 
disobeying  her  mother  by  going  out  before  she  had 
recovered  from  the  measles,  &c.  Once  I  remember 
moving  my  audience  to  tears  by  telling  them  that 
little  Ann  had  been  killed  by  her  brother,  who,  in 
amusing  himself  with  picking  off  the  dry  skin  after 
she  had  had  the  scarlatina,  had  carelessly,  torn 
off  the  real  skin  over  the  heart,  as  they  could  see ; 
thus  leaving  it  to  beat  in  the  air,  and  causing  the 
little  one  to  jlie.  This  happened  after  we  had  all 
had  the  scarlatina. 


24  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

When  five  years  old,  I  was  sent  to  a  primary 
school.  Here  I  became  the  favorite  of  the  teacher 
of  arithmetic  ;  for  which  study  I  had  quite  a  fancy. 
The  rest  of  the  teachers  disliked  me.  They  called 
me  unruly  because  I  would  not  obey  arbitrary  de- 
mands without  receiving  some  reason,  and  obstinate 
because  I  insisted  on  following  my  own  will  when 
I  knew  that  I  was  in  the  right.  I  was  told  that  I 
was  not  worthy  to  be  with  my  playmates  ;  and  when 
I  reached  the  highest  class  in  the  school,  in  which 
alone  the  boys  and  girls  were  taught  separately,  I 
was  separated  from  the  latter,  and  was  placed  with 
the  boys  by  way  of  punishment,  receiving  instruc- 
tions with  them  from  men,  while  the  girls  in  the 
other  class  were  taught  by  women.  Here  I  found 
many  friends.  I  joined  the  boys  in  all  their  sports  ; 
sliding  and  snow-balling  with  them  in  winter,  and 
running  and  playing  ball  in  summer.  With  them 
I  was  merry,  frank,  and  self-possessed ;  while 
with  the  girls  I  was  quiet,  shy,  and  awkward.  I 
never  made  friends  with  the  girls,  or  felt  like  ap- 
proaching them. 

Once  only,  when  I  was  eleven  years  old,  a  girl 
in  the  young  ladies'  seminary  in  which  I  had  been 
placed  when  eight  years  of  age  won  my  affection. 
This  was  Elizabeth  Hohenhorst,  a  child  of  twelve. 


"WOMAN'S  EIGHT  TO  LABOR."  25 

remarkably  quiet,  and  disposed  to  melancholy.  She 
was  a  devout  Catholic  ;  and,  knowing  that  she  was 
fated  to  become  a  nun,  was  fitting  herself  for  that 
dreary  destiny,  which  rendered  her  very  sentimen- 
tal. She  was  full  of  fanciful  visions,  but  extremely 
sweet  and  gentle  in  her  manners.  My  love  for  her 
was  unbounded.  I  went  to  church  in  her  company, 
was  present  at  all  the  religious  festivals,  and  ac- 
companied her  to  receive  religious  instruction :  in 
short,  I  made  up  my  mind  to  become  a  Catholic, 
and,  if  possible,  a  nun  like,  herself.  My  parents, 
who  were  Rationalists,  belonging  to  no  church,  gave 
me  full  scope  to  follow  out  my  own  inclinations ; 
leaving  it  to  my  nature  to  choose  for  me  a  fitting 
path.  This  lasted  until  Elizabeth  went  for  the 
first  time  to  the  confessional ;  and,  when  the  poor 
innocent  child  could  find  no  other  sin  of  which  to 
speak  than  the  friendship  which  she  cherished  for 
a  Protestant,  the  priest  forbade  her  to  continue  this, 
until  I,  too,  had  become  a  Catholic  ;  reminding  her 
of  the  holiness  of  her  future  career.  The  poor  girl 
conscientiously  promised  to  obey.  When  I  came 
the  next  morning  and  spoke  to  her  as  usual,  she 
turned  away  from  me,  and  burst  into  tears.  Sur- 
prised and  anxious,  I  asked  what  was  the  matter ; 
when,  in  a  voice  broken  with  sobs,  she  told  me  the 


26  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

whole  story,  and  begged  me  to  become  a  Catholic 
as  soon  as  I  was  fourteen  years  old.  Never  in  my 
whole  life  shall  I  forget  that  morning.  For  a 
moment,  I  gazed  on  her  with  the  deepest  emotion, 
pitying  her  almost  more  than  myself;  then  suddenly 
turned  coldly  and  calmly  away,  without  answering 
a  single  word.  My  mind  had  awakened  to  the 
despotism  of  Roman  Catholicism,  and  the  church 
had  lost  its  expected  convert.  I  never  went  near 
her  again,  and  never  exchanged  another  word  with 
her.  This  was  the  only  friend  I  had  during  eight 
and  a  half  years  of  uninterrupted  -attendance  at 
school. 

A  visit  that  I  paid  to  my  maternal  grandfather, 
when  seven  or  eight  years  old,  made  a  strong  im- 
pression on  my  mind.  My  grandfather,  on  his 
return  from  the  war  of  1813—15,  in  which  he  had 
served,  had  received  from  the  authorities  of  Prenz- 
lau  (the  city  in  which  he  lived)  a  grant  of  a  half- 
ruined  cloister,  with  about  a  hundred  acres  of 
uncultivated  land  attached,  by  way  of  acknowledg- 
ment for  his  services.  He  removed  thither  with 
his  family  ;  and  shortly  after  invited  the  widows 
of  some  soldiers,  who  lived  in  the  city,  to  occupy 
the  apartments  which  he  did  not  need.  The  habi- 
table rooms  were  soon  filled  to  overflowing  with 


"WOMAN'S  EIGHT  TO  LABOR."  27 

widows  and  orphans,  who  went  to  work  with  him 
to  cultivate  the  ground.  It  was  not  long  before 
crippled  and  invalid  soldiers  arrived,  begging  to  be 
allowed  to  repair  the  cloister,  and  to  find  a  shelter 
also  within  its  walls.  They  were  set  to  work  at 
making  brick,  the  material  for  which  my  grand- 
father had  discovered  on  his  land :  and,  in  about 
five  years,  an  institution  was  built,  the  more  valua- 
ble from  the  fact  that  none  lived  there  on  charity, 
but  all  earned  what  they  needed  by  cultivating  the 
ground  ;  having  first  built  their  own  dwelling, 
which,  at  this  time,  looked  like  a  palace,  surrounded 
by  trees,  grass,  and  flowers.  Here,  in  the  evening, 
the  old  soldiers  sung  martial  songs,  or  told  stories 
of  the  wars  to  the  orphans  gathered  about  them, 
while  resting  from  the  labors  of  the  day. 

I  tell  you  of  this  institution  so  minutely,  to  prove 
to  you  how  wrong  it  is  to  provide  charitable  homes 
for  the  poor  as  we  provide  them,  —  homes  in  which 
the  charity  always  humiliates  and  degrades  the  indi- 
vidual. Here  you  have  an  instance  in  which  poor 
crippled  invalids  and  destitute  women  and  children 
established  and  supported  themselves,  under  the 
guidance  of  a  clear-headed,  benevolent  man,  who 
said,  "  Do  what  you  like,  but  work  for  what  you 
need."  He  succeeded  admirably,  though  he  died  a 


28  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION  OF 

very  poor  man  ;  his  younger  children  becoming 
inmates  of  the  establishment,  until  they  were  adopt- 
ed by  their  relatives. 

When  I  visited  my  grandfather,  the  "  convent," 
as  he  insisted  on  calling  it,  —  rejecting  any  name 
that  would  have  indicated  a  charitable  institution,  — 
contained  about  a  hundred  invalid  soldiers,  a  hun- 
dred old  women,  and  two  hundred  and  fifty  orphans. 
One  of  the  wings  of  the  building  was  fitted  up  as  a 
hospital,  and  a  few  of  the  rooms  were  occupied  by 
lunatics.  It  was  my  greatest  delight  to  take  my 
grandfather's  hand  at  noon,  as  he  walked  up  and 
'down  the  dining-room,  between  the  long  tables, 
around  which  were  grouped  so  many  cheerful, 
hearty  faces ;  and  I  stood  before  him  with  an  ad- 
miration that  it  is  impossible  to  describe,  as  he 
prayed,  with  his  black  velvet  cap  in  his  hand,  be- 
fore and  after  dinner  ;  though  I  could  not  com- 
prehend why  he  should  thank  another  person  for 
what  had  been  done,  when  every  one  there  told 
me  that  all  that  they  had  they  owed  to  my  grand- 
father. 

One  afternoon,  on  returning  from  the  dining-room 
to  his  study,  I  spied  on  his  desk  a  neatly  written 
manuscript.  I  took  it  up,  and  began  to  read.  It 
was  a  dissertation  on  immortality,  attempting  by 


EIGHT   TO   LABOR."  29 


scientific  arguments  to  prove  its  impossibility.  I 
became  greatly  interested,  and  read  on  without 
noticing  that  my  grandfather  had  left  the  room,  nor 
that  the  large  bell  had  rung  to  call  the  family  to 
dinner.  My  grandfather,  a  very  punctual  man, 
who  would  never  allow  lingering,  came  back  to  call 
and  to  reprimand  me  ;  when  he  suddenly  started  on 
seeing  the  paper  in  my  hands,  and,  snatching  it 
from  me,  tore  it  in  pieces,  exclaiming,  "  That  man 
is  insane,  and  will  make  this  child  so  too  !  "  A 
little  frightened,  I  went  to  the  dinner-table,  think- 
ing as  much  about  my  grandfather's  words  as  about 
what  I  had  read  ;  without  daring,  however,  to  ask 
who  this  man  was.  The  next  day,  curiosity  mas- 
tered fear.  I  asked  my  grandfather  who  had  writ- 
ten that  paper  ;  and  was  told,  in  reply,  that  it  was 
poor  crazy  Jacob.  I  then  begged  to  see  him  ;  but 
this  my  grandfather  decidedly  refused,  saying  that 
he  was  like  a  wild  beast,  and  lay,  without  clothes, 
upon  the  straw.  I  knew  nothing  of  lunatics  ;  and 
the  idea  of  a  wild  man  stimulated  my  curiosity  to 
such  an  extent,  that,  from  that  time,  I  teased  my 
grandfather  incessantly  to  let  me  see  Jacob,  until 
he  finally  yielded,  to  be  rid  of  my  importunity,  and 
led  me  to  the  cell  in  which  he  was  confined;  What 
a  spectacle  presented  itself  in  the  house  that  I  had 


30  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

looked  on  as  the  abode  of  so  much  comfort !  On  a 
bundle  of  straw,  in  a  corner  of  a  room,  with  no 
furniture  save  its  bare  walls,  sat  a  man,  clad  only 
in  a  shirt ;  with  the  left  hand  chained  to  the  wall, 
and  the  right  foot  to  the  floor.  An  inkstand  stood 
on  the  floor  by  his  side  ;  and  on  his  knee  was  some 
paper,  on  which  he  was  writing.  His  hair  and 
beard  were  uncombed,  and  his  fine  eyes  glared  with 
fury  as  we  approached  him.  He  tried  to  rise, 
ground  his  teeth,  made  grimaces,  and  shook  his  fist 
at  my  grandfather,  who  tried  in  vain  to  draw  me 
out  of  the  room.  But,  escaping  from  his  grasp,  I 
stepped  towards  the  lunatic,  who  grew  more  quiet 
when  he  saw  me  approach  ;  and  I  tried  to  lift  the 
chain,  which  had  attracted  my  attention.  Then, 
finding  it  too  heavy  for  me,  I  turned  to  my  grand- 
father, and  asked,  "Does  not  this  hurt  the  poor 
man  ?  "  I  had  hardly  spoken  the  words  when  his 
fury  returned,  and  he  shrieked,  — 

"  Have  I  not  always  told  you  that  you  were  cruel 
to  me  ?  Must  this  child  come  to  convince  you  of 
your  barbarity  ?  Tes  :  you  have  no  heart." 

I  looked  at  my  grandfather :  all  my  admiration  of 
him  was  gone ;  and  I  said,  almost  commandingly,  — 

"  Take  off  these  chains !  It  is  bad  of  you  to  tie 
this  man ! " 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  31 

The  man  grew  calm  at  once,  and  asked  implor- 
ingly to  be  set  free  ;  promising  to  be  quiet  and 
tractable  if  my  grandfather  would  give  him  a  trial. 
This  was  promised  him :  his  chains  were  removed 
the  same  day ;  and  Jacob  was  ever  after  not  only 
harmless  and  obedient,  but  also  a  very  useful  man 
in  the  house. 

I  never  afterwards  accompanied  my  grandfather. 
I  had  discovered  a  side  in  his  nature  which  repelled 
me.  I  spent  the  remainder  of  my  visit  in  the 
workrooms  and  the  sickroom,  always  secretly  fear- 
ing that  I  should  meet  with  some  new  cruelty ;  but 
no  such  instance  ever  came  to  my  view. 

On  my  return  from  my  grandfather's,  I  found 
that  a  cousin  had  suddenly  become  blind.  She 
was  soon  after  sent  to  the  ophthalmic  hospital, 
where  she  remained  for  more  than  a  year ;  and, 
during  this  time,  I  was  her  constant  companion 
after  school-hours.  I  was  anxious  to  be  useful  to 
her ;  and,  being  gentler  than  the  nurse,  she  liked  to 
have  me  wash  out  the  issues  that  were  made  in  her 
back  and  arms.  The  nurse,  who  was  very  willing 
to  be  relieved  of  the  duty,  allowed  me  to  cleanse  the 
eyes  of  the  girl  next  my  cousin ;  and  thus  these 
cares  were  soon  made  to  depend  on  my  daily  visit. 
Child  as  I  was,  I  could  not  help  observing  the 


32  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

carelessness  of  the  nurses,  and  their  great  neglect 
of  cleanliness.  One  day,  when  the  head-nurse  had 
washed  the  floor,  leaving  pools  of  water  standing 
under  the  beds,  the  under-nurse  found  fault  with  it, 
and  said,  "  I  shall  tell  the  doctor,  when  he  comes, 
why  it  is  that  the  patients  always  have  colds." 
"  Do,"  said  the  head-nurse.  "  What  do  men  under- 
stand of  such  matters  ?  If  they  knew  any  thing 
about  them,  they  would  long  ago  have  taken  care 
that  the  mattress  upon  which  one  patient  dies 
should  always  be  changed  before  another  comes 
in."  This  quarrel  impressed  itself  upon  my  me- 
mory ;  and  the  wish  rose  in  my  mind,  that  some  day 
I  might  be  head-nurse,  to  prevent  such  wrongs,  and 
to  show  kindness  to  the  poor  lunatics. 

At  the  end  of  the  year,  my  cousin  left  the  hospi- 
tal. At  the  same  time,  trouble  and  constant  sick- 
ness fell  upon  our  family.  My  father,  who  held 
liberal  opinions  and  was  of  an  impetuous  tempera- 
ment, manifested  some  revolutionary  tendencies, 
which  drew  upon  him  the  displeasure  of  the  govern- 
ment, and  caused  his  dismissal,  with  a  very  small 
pension,  from  his  position  as  military  officer.  This 
involved  us  in  great  pecuniary  difficulties  ;  for  our 
family  was  large,  and  my  father's  income  too  small 
to  supply  the  most  necessary  wants  ;  while  to  obtain 


RIGHT   TO   LABOE."  33 


other  occupation  for  the  time  was  out  of  the  ques- 
tion. In  this  emergency,  my  mother  determined 
to  petition  the  city  government  for  admission  to 
the  school  of  midwives  established  in  Berlin,,  in 
order  in  this  manner  to  aid  in  the  support  of  the 
family.  Influential  friends  of  my  father  secured 
her  the  election  ;  and  she  was  admitted  to.  the 
school  in  1839,  I  being  at  that  time-  ten  years 
of  age. 

The  education  of  midwives  for  Berlin  requires  a 
two  years'  course  of  study,  during  six  months  of 
which  they  are  obliged  to  reside  in  the  hospital, 
to  receive  instructions  from  the  professors  together 
with  the  male  students.  My  mother  went  there  in 
the  summer  of  1840.  I  went  to  stay  at  the  house 
of  an  aunt,  who  wished  my  company  ;  and  the  rest 
of  the  children  were  put  out  to  board  together. 

In  a  few  weeks,  my  eyes  became  affected  with 
weakness,  so  that  I  could  neither  read  nor  write  ; 
and  I  begged  my  mother  to  let  me  stay  with  her  in 
the  hospital.  She  applied  for  permission  to  the 
director,  and  received  a  favorable  answer.  I  was 
placed  under  the  care  of  one  of  the  physicians  (Dr. 
Miiller)  ,  who  took  a  great  fancy  to  me,  and  made 
me  go  with  him  wherever  he  went  while  engaged 
in  the  hospital.  My  eyes  being  bandaged,  he  led  me 
3 


34 


by  the  hand,  calling  me  his  "  little  blind  doctor." 
In  this  way  I  was  constantly  with  him,  hearing 
all  his  questions  and  directions,  which  impressed 
themselves  the  more  strongly  on  my  mind  from 
the  fact  that  I  could  not  see,  but  had  to  gain  all 
my  knowledge  through  hearing  alone. 

One  afternoon,  when  I  had  taken  the  bandage 
off  my  eyes  for  the  first  time,  Dr.  Miiller  told  me 
that  there  was  a  corpse  of  a  young  man  to  be  seen 
in  the  dead-house,  that  had  turned  completely  green 
in  consequence  of  poison  that  he  had  eaten.  I  went 
there  after  my  rounds  with  him :  but  finding  the 
room  filled  with  relatives,  who  were  busily  engaged 
in  adorning  the  body  with  flowers,  I  thought  that  I 
would  not  disturb  them,  but  would  wait  until  they 
had  gone  before  I  looked  at  it ;  and  went  meanwhile 
through  the  adjoining  rooms.  These  were  all 
freshly  painted.  The  dissecting-tables,  with  the  ne- 
cessary apparatus,  stood  in  the  centre ;  while  the 
bodies,  clad  in  white  gowns,  were  ranged  on  boards 
along  the  walls.  I  examined  every  thing ;  came 
back,  and  looked  to  my  heart's  content  at  the  poi- 
soned young  man,  without  noticing  that  not  only 
the  relatives  had  left,  but  that  the  prosector  had 
also  gone  away,  after  locking  up  the  whole  build- 
ing. I  then  went  a  second  time  to  the  other  rooms, 


"WOMAN'S  EIGHT  TO  LABOR."  35 

and  looked  again  at  every  thing  there ;  and  at  last, 
when  it  became  dark  and  I  could  not  leave  the 
house,  sat  down  upon  the  floor,  and  went  to  sleep, 
after  knocking  for  half  an  hour  at  the  door,  in  the 
hope  that  some  passer  might  hear. 

My  mother,  who  knew  that  I  had  gone  with  Dr. 
Miiller,  did  not  trouble  herself  about  me  until  nine 
o'clock,  when  she  grew  uneasy  at  my  stay;  and, 
thinking  that  he  might  have  taken  me  to  his 
rooms,  went  there  in  search  of  me,  but  found  that 
he  was  out,  and  that  the  doors  were  locked.  She 
then  inquired  of  the  people  in  the  house  whether 
they  knew  any  thing  about  me,  and  was  told  that 
they  had  last  seen  me  going  into  the  dead-house. 
Alarmed  at  this  intelligence,  my  mother  hastened 
to  the  prosector,  who  unwillingly  went  with  her  to 
the  park  in  which  the  dead-house  stood,  assuring 
her  all  the  way  that  I  could  not  possibly  be  there  ; 
when,  on  opening  the  door,  he  saw  me  sitting  close 
by,  on  the  floor,  fast  asleep. 

In  a  few  days  after  this  adventure,  I  recovered 
the  use  of  my  eyes.  As  it  was  at  this  time  the 
summer  vacation,  in  which  I  had  no  school-tasks, 
I  asked  Dr.  Miiller  for  some  books  to  read.  He 
inquired  what  kind  of  books  I  wanted.  I  told  him, 
"  Books  about  history ; "  upon  which  he  gave  me 


36  A   PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

two  huge  volumes, — The  "History  of  Midwifery" 
and  the  "  History  of  Surgery."  Both  were  so  in- 
teresting, that  I  read  them  through  during  the 
six  weeks  of  vacation  ;  which  occupied  me  so  close- 
ly, that  even  my  friend  Dr.  Miiller  could  not  lay 
hold  of  me  when  he  went  his  morning  and  evening 
rounds.  From  this  time  I  date  my  study  of  me- 
dicine ;  for,  though  I  did  not  continue  to  read  upon 
the  subject,  I  was  instructed  in  the  no  less  impor- 
tant branch  of  psychology  by  a  new  teacher,  whom 
I  found  on  my  return  to  school  at  the  close  of  the 
summer  vacation. 

To  explain  better  how  my  mind  was  prepared 
for  such  teaching,  I  must  go  back  to  my  position 
in  school.  In  both  schools  that  I  attended,  I  was 
praised  for  my  punctuality,  industry,  and  quick 
perception.  Beloved  I  was  in  neither :  on  the 
contrary,  I  was  made  the  target  for  all  the  impu- 
dent jokes  of  my  fellow-pupils  ;  ample  material  for 
which  was  furnished  in  the  carelessness  with  which 
my  hair  and  dress  were  usually  arranged  ;  these 
being  left  to  the  charge  of  a  servant,  who  troubled 
herself  very  little  about  how  I  looked,  provided  that 
I  was  whole  and  clean.  The  truth  was,  I  often 
presented  a  ridiculous  appearance ;  and  once  I 
could  not  help  laughing  heartily  at  myself,  on  see- 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  37 

ing  my  own  face  by  accident  in  a  glass,  with  one 
braid  of  hair  commencing  over  the  right  eye,  and 
the  other  over  the  left  ear.  I  quietly  hung  a  map 
over  the  glass  to  hide  the  ludicrous  picture,  and 
continued  my  studies  ;  and  most  likely  appeared  in 
the  same  style  the  next  day.  My  face,  besides,  was 
neither  handsome,  nor  even  prepossessing  ;  a  large 
nose  overshadowing  the  undeveloped  features  :  and  , 
I  was  ridiculed  for  my  ugliness,  both  in  school  and 
at  home,  where  an  aunt  of  mine,  who  disliked  me 
exceedingly,  always  said,  in  describing  plain  people, 
"  Almost  as  ugly  as  Marie." 

Another  cause  arose  to  render  my  position  at 
school  still  more  intolerable.  In  consequence  of 
the  loss  of  his  position  in  the  army,  my  father 
could  no  longer  afford  to  pay  my  school-bills  ;  and 
was  about,  in  consequence,  to  remove  me  from 
school;  when  the  principal  offered  to  retain  me 
without  pay,  although  she  disliked  me,  and  did  not 
hesitate  to  show  it,  any  more  than  to  tell  me,  when- 
ever I  offended  her,  that  she  would  never  keep  so 
ugly  and  naughty  a  child  without  being  paid  for  it, 
were  it  not  for  the  sake  of  so  noble  a  father. 

These  conditions  and  harsh  judgments  made  me 
a  philosopher.  I  heard  myself  called  obstinate 
and  wilful,  only  because  I  believed  myself  in  the 


38  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

right,  and  persisted  in  it.  I  felt  that  I  was  not 
maliciously  disposed  towards  any  one,  but  wished 
well  to  all ;  and  I  offered  my  services  not  only 
willingly,  but  cheerfully,  wherever  they  could  be 
of  the  least  use  ;  and  saw  them  accepted,  and  even 
demanded,  by  those  who  could  not  dispense  with 
them,  though  they  shunned  and  ridiculed  me  the 
same  as  before.  I  felt  that  they  only  sought  me 
when  they  needed  me :  this  made  me  shrink  still 
more  from  their  companionship  ;  and,  when  my- 
sister  did  not  walk  home  from  school  with  me,  I 
invariably  went  alone. 

The  idea  that  I  might  not  wish  to  attach  myself 
to  playmates  of  this  sort  never  occurred  to  any 
one  ;  but  I  was  constantly  reproached  with  having 
no  friends  among  my  schoolfellows,  and  was  told 
that  no  one  could  love  so  disagreeable  and  repelling 
a  child.  This  was  a  severe  blow  to  my  affectionate 
nature ;  but  I  bore  it  calmly,  consoling  myself  with 
the  thought  that  they  were  wrong,  —  that  they  did 
not  understand  me,  —  and  that  the  time  would 
come,  when  they  would  learn  that  a  great,  warm 
heart  was  concealed  beneath  the  so-called  repulsive 
exterior.  But,  however  soothing  all  this  was  for 
the  time,  a  feeling  of  bitterness  grew  up  within  me. 
I  began  to  be  provoked  at  my  ugliness,  which  I 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  39 

believed  to  be  excessive.  I  speculated  why  parents 
so  kind  and  good  as  mine  should  be  deprived  of  their 
means  of  support,  merely  because  my  father  would 
not  consent  to  endure  wrong  and  imposition.  I 
was  indignant  at  being  told,  that  it  was  only  for  my 
father's  sake  that  I  was  retained  in  a.  school  where 
I  tried  to  do  my  best,  and  where  I  always  won  the 
highest  prizes  ;  and  I  could  not  see  why,  at  home, 
I  should  be  forced  to  do  housework  when  I  wanted 
to  read,  while  my  brother,  who  wished  to  work, 
was  compelled  to  study.  When  I  complained  of 
this  last  grievance,  I  was  told  that  I  was  a  girl, 
and  never  could  learn  much,  but  was  only  fit  to 
become  a  housekeeper.  All  these  things  threw  me 
upon  my  own  resources,  and  taught  me  to  make 
the  most  of  every  opportunity,  custom  and  habit 
to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

It  was  at  this  juncture  that  I  found,  on  my  re- 
turn to  school,  the  psychologic  instructor  of  whom 
I  have  spoken,  in  a  newly  engaged  teacher  of 
history,  geography,  and  arithmetic ;  all  of  which 
were  my  favorite  studies.  With  this  man  I  formed 
a  most  peculiar  friendship  :  he  being  twenty  years 
older  than  myself,  and  in  every  respect  a  highly 
educated  man ;  I,  a  child  of  twelve,  neglected  in 
every  thing  except  in  my  common-school  education. 


40  A   PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OP 

He  began  by  calling  my  attention  to  the  carelessness 
of  my  dress  and  the  rudeness  of  my  manners,  and 
was  the  first  one  who  ever  spoke  kindly  to  me  on 
the  subject.  I  told  him  all  my  thoughts ;  that  I 
did  not  mean  to  be  disagreeable,  but  that  every 
one  thought  that  I  could  not  be  otherwise ;  that  I 
was  convinced  that  I  was  good  enough  at  heart; 
and  that  I  had  at  last  resigned  myself  to  my 
position,  as  something  that  could  not  be  helped. 
My  new  friend  lectured  me  on  the  necessity  of 
attracting  others  by  an  agreeable  exterior  and 
courteous  manners ;  and  proved  to  me  that  I  had 
tmconsciously  repelled  them  by  my  carelessness, 
even  when  trying  the  most  to  please.  His  words 
made  a  deep  impression  on  me.  I  thanked  him 
for  every  reproach,  and  strove  to  do  my  best  to 
gain  his  approbation.  Henceforth  my  hair  was  al- 
ways carefully  combed,  my  dress  nicely  arranged, 
and  my  collar  in  its  place  ;  and,  as  I  always 
won  the  first  prizes  in  the  school,  two  of  the 
other  teachers  soon  grew  friendly  towards  me,  and 
began  to  manifest  their  preference  quite  strongly. 
In  a  few  months  I  became  a  different  being.  The 
bitterness  that  had  been  growing  up  within  me 
gradually  disappeared ;  and  I  began  to  have  con- 
fidence in  myself,  and  to  try  to  win  the  companion- 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  41 

ship  of  the  other  children.  But  a  .sudden  change 
took  place  in  my  schoolmates,  who  grew  envious 
of  the  preference  shown  me  by  the  teachers.  Since 
they  could  no  longer  ridicule  me  for  the  carelessness 
of  my  dress,  they  now  began  to  reproach  me  for 
my  vanity,  and  to  call  me  a  coquette,  who  only 
thought  of  pleasing  through  appearances.  This 
blow  was  altogether  too  hard  for  me  to  bear.  I 
knew  that  they  were  wrong :  for,  with  all  the  care 
I  bestowed  on  my  dress,  it  was  not  half  so  fine  as 
theirs ;  as  I  had  but  two  calico  dresses,  which  I 
wore  alternately,  a  week  at  a  time,  through  the 
summer.  I  was  again  repelled  from  them ;  and  at 
noon,  when  the  rest  of  the  scholars  went  home,  I 
remained  with  my  teacher-friend  in  the  schoolroom, 
assisting  him  in  correcting  the  exercises  of  the  pu- 
pils. I  took  the  opportunity  to  tell  him  of  the 
curious  envy  that  had  taken  possession  of  the  girls  ; 
upon  which  he  began  to  explain  to  me  human  nature 
and  its  fallacies,  drawing  inferences  therefrom  for 
personal  application.  He  found  a  ready  listener 
in  me.  My  inclination  to  abstract  thought,  com- 
bined with  the  unpleasant  experience  I  had  had  in 
life,  made  me  an  attentive  pupil,  and  fitted  me  to 
comprehend  his  reasoning  in  the  broadest  sense. 
For  fifteen  months,  I  thus  spent  the  noon-hour  with 


42  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

him  in  the  schoolroom ;  receiving  lessons  in  logic, 
and  reasoning  upon  concrete  and  abstract  matters, 
that  have  since  proved  of  far  more  psychologic 
value  to  me  than  ten  years  of  reading  on  the  same 
subjects  could  do.  A  strong  attachment  grew  up 
between  us :  he  became  a  necessity  to  me,  and  I 
revered  him  like  an  oracle.  But  his  health  failed  ; 
and  he  left  the  school  at  the  end  of  these  fifteen 
months,  in  a  consumption.  Shortly  after,  he  sent  to 
the  school  for  me  one  morning  to  ask  me  to  visit 
him  on  his  deathbed.  I  was  not  permitted  to  leave 
the  class  until  noon  ;  when,  just  as  I  was  preparing 
to  go,  a  messenger  came  to  inform  the  principal  that 
he  had  died  at  eleven.  This  blow  fell  so  heavily 
upon  me,  that  I  wished  to  leave  the  school  at  once. 
I  was  forced  to  stay  three  weeks  longer,  until  the 
end  of  the  quarter ;  when  I  left  the  schoolroom 
on  the  1st  of  April,  1843,  at  the  age  of  thirteen 
years  and  seven  months,  and  never  entered  it 
again. 

On  the  same  day  that  I  quitted  my  school,  an 
aunt,  with  whom  I  was  a  favorite,  was  attacked 
with  a  violent  hemorrhage  from  the  lungs,  and 
wished  me  to  come  to  stay  with  her.  This  suited 
my  taste.  I  went ;  and,  for  a  fortnight,  was  her 
sole  nurse. 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  43 

Upon  my  return  home,  my  father  told  me,  that, 
having  quitted  school,  I  must  now  become  a  tho- 
rough housekeeper,  of  whom  he  might  be  proud; 
as  this  was  the  only  thing  for  which  girls  were  in- 
tended by  nature.  I  cheerfully  entered  upon  my 
new  apprenticeship,  and  learned  how  to  sweep,  to 
scrub,  to  wash,  and  to  cook.  This  work  answered 
very  well  as  long  as  the  novelty  lasted ;  but,  as 
soon  as  this  wore  off,  it  became  highly  burdensome. 
Many  a  forenoon,  when  I  was  alone,  instead  of 
sweeping  and  dusting,  I  passed  the  hours  in  read- 
ing books  from  my  father's  library,  until  it  grew  so 
late,  that  I  was  afraid  that  my  mother,  who  had 
commenced  practice,  would  come  home,  and  scold 
me  for  not  attending  to  my  work ;  when  I  would 
hurry  to  get  through,  doing  every  thing  so  badly, 
that  I  had  to  hear  daily  that  I  was  good  for  nothing, 
and  a  nuisance  in  the  world ;  and  that  it  was  not 
at  all  surprising  that  I  was  not  liked  in  school,  for 
nobody  could  ever  like  or  be  satisfied  with  me. 

Meanwhile,  my  mother's  practice  gradually  in- 
creased ;  and  her  generous  and  kindly  nature  won 
the  confidence  of  hundreds,  who,  wretchedly  poor, 
found  in  her,  not  only  a  humane  woman,  but  a  most 
skilful  practitioner.  The  poor  are  good  judges  of 
professional  qualifications.  Without  the  aid  that 


44  A   PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

money  can  buy,  without  the  comforts  that  the  weal- 
thy hardly  heed,  and  without  friends  whose  advice  is 
prompted  by  intelligence,  they  must  depend  entirely 
upon  the  skill  and  humanity  of  those  to  whom  they 
apply.  Their  life  and  happiness  are  placed  in  the 
hands  of  the  physician,  and  they  jealously  regard 
the  one  to  whom  they  intrust  them.  None  but  a 
good  practitioner  can  gain  fame  and  praise  in  this 
class,  which  is  thought  so  easily  satisfied.  It  is 
often  said,  "  Oh !  those  people  are  poor,  and  will 
be  glad  of  any  assistance."  Far  from  it.  There 
is  no  class  so  entirely  dependent  for  their  subsist- 
ence upon  their  strength  and  health  ;  these  consti- 
tute their  sole  capital,  their  stock  in  trade :  and, 
when  sick,  they  anxiously  seek  out  the  best  physi- 
cians ;  for,  if  unskilfully  attended,  they  may  lose 
their  all,  their  fortune,  and  their  happiness. 

My  mother  went  everywhere,  both  night  and  day ; 
and  it  soon  came  to  pass,  that  when  she  was  sent  for, 
and  was  not  at  home,  I  was  deputed  to  go  in  search 
of  her.  In  this  way  I  gradually  became  a  regular 
appendage  to  my  mother ;  going  with  her  in  the 
winter  nights  from  place  to  place,  and  visiting  those 
whom  she  could  not  vjsit  during  the  day.  I  remem- 
ber, that  in  January,  1845,  my  mother  attended 
thirty-five  women  in  childbed,  —  the  list  of  names 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  45 

is  still  in  my  possession,  —  and  visited  from  sixteen 
to  twenty-five  daily,  with  my  assistance.  I  do  not 
think,  that,  during  the  month,  we  were  in  bed  for 
one  whole  night.  Two -thirds  of  these  patients 
were  unable  to  pay  a  cent.  During  these  years,  I 
learned  all  of  life  that  it  was  possible  for  a  human 
being  to  learn.  I  saw  nobleness  in  dens,  and  mean- 
ness in  palaces  ;  virtue  among  prostitutes,  and  vice 
among  so-called  respectable  women.  I  learned  to 
judge  human  nature  correctly ;  to  see  goodness 
where  the  world  found  nothing  but  faults,  and  also 
to  see  faults  where  the  world  could  see  nothing  but 
virtue.  The  experience  thus  gained  cost  me  the 
bloom  of  youth ;  yet  I  would  not  exchange  it  for  a 
life  of  everlasting  juvenescence.  To  keep  up  ap- 
pearances is  the  aim  of  every  one's  life  ;  but  to 
fathom  these  appearances,  and  judge  correctly  of 
what  is  beneath  them,  ought  to  be  the  aim  of  those 
who  seek  to  draw  true  conclusions  from  life,  or  to 
benefit  others  by  real  sympathy. 

One  fact  I  learned,  both  at  this  time  and  after- 
wards ;  namely,  that  men  always  sympathize  with 
fallen  and  wretched  women,  while  women  them- 
selves are  the  first  to  raise  and  cast  the  stone  at 
them.  Why  is  this  ?  Have  not  women  as  much 
feeling  as  men  ?  "Why,  women  are  said  to  be  made 


46 


up  entirely  of  feeling.  How  does  it  happen,  then, 
that  women  condemn  where  men  pity  ?  Do  they 
do  this  in  the  consciousness  of  their  own  superior 
virtue  ?  Ah,  no  !  for  many  of  the  condemning  are 
no  better  than  the  condemned.  The  reason  is,  that 
men  know  the  world  ;  that  is,  they  know  the  obsta- 
cles in  the  path  of  life,  and  that  they  draw  lines  to 
exclude  women  from  earning  an  honest  livelihood, 
while  they  throw  opportunities  in  their  way  to 
earn  their  bread  by  shame.  All  men  are  aware  of 
this :  therefore  the  good  as  well  as  the  bad  give 
pity  to  those  that  claim  it.  It  is  my  honest  and 
earnest  conviction,  that  the  reason  that  men  are 
unwilling  for  women  to  enter  upon  public  or  busi- 
ness life  is,  not  so  much  the  fear  of  competition,  or 
the  dread  lest  women  should  lose  their  gentleness, 
and  thus  deprive  society  of  this  peculiar  charm,  as 
the  fact  that  they  are  ashamed  of  the  foulness  of 
life  which  exists  outside  of  the  house  and  home. 
The  good  man  knows  that  it  is  difficult  to  purify  it : 
the  bad  man  does  not  wish  to  be  disturbed  in  his 
prey  upon  society.  If  I  could  but  give  to  all  wo- 
men the  tenth  part  of  my  experience,  they  would 
see  that  this  is  true ;  and  would  see,  besides,  that 
only  faith  in  ourselves  and  in  each  other  is  needed 
to  work  a  reformation.  Let  woman  enter  fully 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  47 

into  business,  with  its  serious  responsibilities  and 
duties  ;  let  it  be  made  as  honorable  and  as  profita- 
ble to  her  as  to  men  ;  let  her  have  an  equal  oppor- 
tunity for  earning  competence  and  comfort,  —  and 
we  shall  need  no  other  purification  of  society.  Men 
are  no  more  depraved  than  women  ;  or,  rather,  the 
total  depravity  of  mankind  is  a  lie. 

From  the  time  of  my  leaving  school  until  I  was 
fifteen  years  old,  my  life  was  passed,  as  I  have 
described,  in  doing  housework,  attending  the  sick 
with  my  mother,  and  reading  a  few  books  of  a 
scientific  and  literary  character.  At  the  end  of  this 
time,  a  letter  came  from  an  aunt  of  my  mother's, 
who  was  ill,  and  whose  adopted  daughter  (who  was 
my  mother's  sister)  was  also  an  invalid,  requesting 
me  to  visit  and  nurse  them.  I  went  there  in  the 
fall.  This  was  probably  the  most  decisive  event  of 
my  life.  My  great-aunt  had  a  cancer  that  was  to 
be  taken  out.  The  other  was  suffering  from  a 
nervous  affection,  which  rendered  her  a  confirmed 
invalid.  She  was  a  most  peculiar  woman,  and  was 
a  clairvoyant  and  somnambulist  of  the  most  decided 
kind.  Though  not  ill-natured,  she  was  full  of  ca- 
prices that  would  have  exhausted  the  patience  of 
the  most  enduring  of  mortals. 

This  aunt  of  mine  had  been  sick  in  bed  for  seven 


48  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OP 

years  with  a  nervous  derangement,  which  baffled 
the  most  skilful  physicians  who  had  visited  her. 
Her  senses  were  so  acute,  that  one  morning  she 
fell  into  convulsions  from  the  effect  of  distant 
music  which  she  heard.  None  of  us  could  per- 
ceive it,  and  we  fully  believed  that  her  imagination 
had  produced  this  result.  But  she  insisted  upon  it ; 
telling  us  that  the  music"was  like  that  of  the  Bohe- 
mian miners,  who  played  nothing  but  polkas.  I 
was  determined  to  ascertain  the  truth  ;  and  really 
found,  that,  in  a  public  garden  one  and  a  half  miles 
from  her  house,  such  a  troop  had  played  all  the 
afternoon.  No  public  music  was  permitted  in  the 
city,  because  the  magistrate  had  forbidden  it  on 
her  account. 

She  never  was  a  Spiritualist,  though  she  fre- 
quently went  into  what  is  now  called  a  trance.  She 
spoke,  wrote,  sang,  and  had  presentiments  of  the 
finest  kind,  in  this  condition,  —  far  better  than  I 
have  ever  seen  here  in  America  in  the  case  of  the 
most  celebrated  mediums. 

She  even  prescribed  for  herself  with  success,  yet 
was  not  a  Spiritualist.  She  was  a  somnambulist ; 
and,  though  weak  enough  when  awake,  threatened 
several  times  to  pull  the  house  down,  by  her  vio- 
lence, in  this  condition.  She  had  strength  like  a 


"WOMAN'S  BIGHT  TO  LABOR."  49 

lion,  and  no  man  could  manage  her.  I  saw  the 
same  thing  in  the  hospital  later.  This  aunt  is  now 
healthy  ;  not  cured  by  her  own  prescriptions  or 
the  magnetic  or  infinitesimal  doses  of  Dr.  Arthur 
Lutze,  but  by  a  strong  emotion  which  took  posses- 
sion of  her  at  the  time  of  my  great-aunt's  death. 
She  is  not  sorry  that  she  has  lost  all  these  strange 
powers,  but  heartily  glad  of  it.  When  she  after- 
wards visited  us  in  Berlin,  she  could  speak  calmly 
and  quietly  of  the  perversion  to  which  the  nervous 
system  may  become  subject,  if  managed  wrongly ; 
and  could  not  tell  how  glad  she  was  to  be  rid  of  all 
the  emotions  and  notions  she  had  been  compelled  to 
dream  out.  Over-care  and  over-anxiety  had  brought 
this  about ;  and  the  same  causes  could  again  bring 
on  a  condition  which  the  ancients  deemed  holy,  and 
which  the  psychologist  treats  as  one  bordering  on 
insanity. 

The  old  aunt  was  extremely  suspicious  and  avari- 
cious. Eight  weeks  after  my  arrival,  she  submitted 
to  an  operation.  The  operating  surgeon  found  me 
so  good  an  assistant,  that  he  intrusted  me  often 
with  the  succeeding  dressing  of  the  wound.  For  six 
weeks,  I  was  the  sole  nurse  of  the  two  ;  going  from 
one  room  to  the  other  both  night  and  day,  and  attend- 
ing to  the  household  matters  beside,  with  no  other 

4 


50  A   PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

assistant  than  a  woman  who  came  every  morning 
for  an  hour  or  two  to  do  the  rough  work  ;  while  an 
uncle  and  a  boy-cousin  were  continually  troubling 
me  with  their  torn  buttons,  &c. 

I  learned  in  this  time  to  be  cheerful  and  light- 
hearted  in  all  circumstances ;  going  often  into  the 
anteroom  to  have  a  healthy,  hearty  laugh.  My 
surroundings  were  certainly  any  thing  but  inspiring. 
I  had  the  sole  responsibility  of  the  two  sick  women  ; 
the  one  annoying  me  with  her  caprices,  the  other 
with  her  avarice.  In  one  room,  I  heard  fanciful 
forebodings ;  in  the  other,  reproaches  for  having 
used  a  teaspoonful  too  much  sugar.  I  always  had 
to  carry  the  key  of  the  storeroom  to  the  old  aunt, 
in  order  that  she  might  be  sure  that  I  could  not 
go  in  and  eat  bread  when  I  chose.  At  the  end  of 
six  weeks,  she  died  ;  and  I  put  on  mourning  for  the 
only  time  in  my  life,  certainly  not  through  grief. 

Shortly  after  the  death  of  my  aunt,  the  attend- 
ing physician  introduced  me  to  a  disciple  of  Hahne- 
mann,  by  the  name  of  Arthur  Lutze  ;  who  was,  I 
think,  a  doctor  of  philosophy,  —  certainly  not  of 
medicine.  Besides  being  an  infinitesimal  homceopa- 
thist,  this  man  was  a  devotee  to  mesmerism.  He 
became  very  friendly  towards  me,  and  supplied  me 
with  books  ;  telling  me  that  I  would  not  only  make 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  51 

a  good  homoeopathic  physician,  but  also  an  excellent 
medium  for  mesmerism,  magnetism,  &c.  At  all 
events,  I  was  glad  to  get  the  books,  which  I  read 
industriously ;  while  he  constantly  supplied  me  with 
new  ones,  so  that  I  had  quite  a  library  when  he 
left  the  place,  which  he  did  before  my  return 
He,  too,  lived  in  Berlin,  and  inquired  my  residence ; 
promising  to  visit  me  there,  and  to  teach  me  the  art 
he  practised. 

I  remained  with  my  aunt  until  late  in  the  spring ; 
when  my  health  failed,  and  I  returned  home.  I 
was  very  ill  for  a  time  with  brain-fever  ;  but  at  last 
recovered,  and  set  to  work  industriously  to  search 
for  information  in  respect  to  the  human  body.  Dr. 
Lutze  kept  his  word :  he  visited  me  at  my  home, 
gave  me  more  books,  and  directed  my  course  of 
reading.  But  my  father,  who  had  become  recon- 
ciled to  my  inclination  to  assist  my  mother,  was 
opposed  to  homoeopathy,  and  especially  opposed  to 
Dr.  Arthur  Lutze.  He  even  threatened  to  turn  him 
out  of  the  house,  if  I  permitted  him  to  visit  me 
again ;  and  burned  all  my  books,  except  one  that  I 
snatched  from  the  flames. 

From  this  time,  I  was  resolved  to  learn  all  that 
I  could  about  the  human  system.  I  read  all  the 
books  on  the  subject  that  I  could  get,  and  tried 


52  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

besides  to  educate  myself  in  other  branches.  My 
father  was  satisfied  with  this  disposition,  and  was 
glad  to  hear  me  propose  to  have  a  French  teacher  in 
the  house,  both  for  my  sake  and  for  that  of  the  other 
children.  I  studied  in  good  earnest  by  myself;  at 
the  same  time,  going  through  the  usual  discipline 
of  German  girls.  I  learned  plain  sewing,  dress- 
making, and  the  management  of  the  household ;  but 
was  allowed  to  use  my  leisure  time  as  I  pleased. 
When  my  sisters  went  skating,  I  remained  at  home 
to  study ;  when  they  went  to  balls  and  theatres,  I 
was  thought  the  proper  person  to  stay  to  watch  the 
house.  Having  become  so  much  older,  I  was  now 
of  great  assistance  to  my  mother  in  her  business. 
No  one  complained  any  longer  of  my  ugliness  or 
my  rudeness.  I  was  always  busy ;  and,  when  at 
liberty,  always  glad  to  do  what  I  could  for  others  ; 
and,  though  these  years  were  full  of  hardships, 
I  consider  them  among  the  happiest  of  my  life.  I 
was  as  free  as  it  was  possible  for  any  German  girl 
to  be. 

My  household  duties,  however,  continued  distaste- 
ful to  me,  much  to  the  annoyance  of  my  father, 
who  still  contended  that  this  was  the  only  sphere  of 
woman.  From  being  so  much  with  my  mother,  I 
had  lost  all  taste  for  domestic  life  :  any  thing  out  of 


"  WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  53 

doors  was  preferable  to  the  monotonous  routine 
of  the  household.  I  at  length  determined  to  follow 
my  inclinations  by  studying,  in  order  to  fit  myself 
to  become  a  practitioner  of  midwifery,  as  is  usual 
in  Berlin.  My  father  was  satisfied,  and  pleased 
with  this  idea,  which  opened  the  way  to  an  inde- 
pendent, respectable  livelihood ;  for  he  never  really 
wished  to  have  us  seek  this  in  marriage.  My  mother 
did  not  like  my  resolution  at  all.  She  practised, 
not  because  she  liked  the  profession,  but  because  in 
this  way  she  obtained  the  means  of  being  inde- 
pendent, and  of  aiding  in  the  education  of  the 
children.  I  persisted,  however,  in  my  resolution ; 
and  immediately  took  measures  to  carry  it  into 
effect  by  going  directly  to  Dr.  Joseph  Hermann 
Schmidt,  the  Professor  of  Midwifery  in  the  Uni- 
versity and  Schools  for  Midwives,  and  Director  of 
the  Royal  Hospital  Charite  ;  while  my  father,  who 
for  several  years  held  the  position  of  a  civil  officer, 
made  the  application  to  the  city  magistrates  for  me 
to  be  admitted  as  a  pupil  to  the  School  for  Mid- 
wives,  in  which  my  mother  had  been  educated.  In 
order  to  show  the  importance  of  this  step,  it  is 
necessary  to  explain  more  fully  the  history  and  or- 
ganization of  the  school. 

About  1735,  Justina  Ditrichin  (the  wife  of  Sie- 


54  A   PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

gemund,  a  distinguished  civil  officer  of  Prussia) 
was  afflicted  with  an  internal  disease  which  baffled 
the  skill  of  the  midwives,  who  had  pronounced  her 
pregnant,  and  none  of  whom  could  define  her  dis- 
order. After  many  months  of  suffering,  she  was 
visited  by  the  wife  of  a  poor  soldier,  who  told 
her  what  ailed  her ;  in  consequence  of  which,  she 
was  cured  by  her  physicians.  This  circumstance 
awakened  in  the  mind  of  the  lady  an  intense  desire 
to  study  midwifery ;  which  she  did,  and  afterwards 
practised  it  with  such  success,  that,  in  consequence 
of  her  extensive  practice,  she  was  obliged  to  confine 
herself  solely  to  irregular  cases.  She  performed 
all  kinds  of  operations  with  masterly  skill,  and 
wrote  the  first  book  on  the  subject  ever  published 
in  Germany  by  a  woman.  She  was  sent  for  from 
all  parts  of  Germany,  and  was  appointed  body- 
physician  of  the  Queen,  and  the  ladies  of  the  court, 
of  Prussia  and  Mark  Brandenburg.  Through  her 
influence,  schools  were  established,  in  which  women 
were  instructed  in  the  science  and  the  art  of  ob- 
stetrics. She  also  taught  many  herself ;  and  a  very 
successful  and  respectable  practice  soon  grew  up 
among  women.  After  her  death,  however,  this  was 
discountenanced  by  the  physicians,  who  brought  it 
into  such  disrepute  by  their  ridicule,  that  the  edu- 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  55 

cated  class  of  women  withdrew  from  the  profession, 
leaving  it  in  the  hands  of  ignorant  pretenders,  who 
continued  to  practise  it  until  1818  ;  when  public 
attention  was  called  to  the  subject,  and  strict  laws 
were  enacted,  by  which  women  were  required  to 
call  in  a  male  practitioner  in  every  irregular  case  of 
confinement,  under  penalty  of  from  one  to  twenty 
years  of  imprisonment,  and  the  forfeiture  of  the 
right  to  practise.  These  laws  still  continue  in 
force ;  and  a  remarkable  case  is  recorded  by  Dr. 
Schmidt  of  a  woman,  who,  feeling  her  own  compe- 
tency to  manage  a  case  committed  to  her  care,  did 
not  send  for  a  male  physician  as  the  law  required. 
Although  it  was  fully  proved  that  she  had  done 
every  thing  that  could  have  been  done  in  the  case, 
her  penalty  was  imprisonment  for  twenty  years. 
Two  other  cases  are  quoted  by  Dr.  Schmidt,  in 
which  male  practitioners  were  summoned  before  a 
legal  tribunal,  and  it  was  proved  that  they  had  not 
done  that  which  was  necessary ;  yet  their  penalty 
was  no  heavier  than  that  inflicted  on  the  woman, 
who  had  done  exactly  what  she  ought. 

At  this  time  (1818),  it  was  also  made  illegal  for 
any  woman  to  practise  who  had  not  been  educated. 
This  brought  the  profession  again  into  repute  among 
women  of  the  higher  classes.  A  school  for  mid- 


56  A   PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

wives,  supported  by  the  government,  was  established 
in  Berlin,  in  which  women  have  since  continued  to 
be  educated  for  practice  in  this  city  and  in  other 
parts  of  Prussia.  Two  midwives  are  elected  each 
year,  by  a  committee,  from  the  applicants,  to  be 
educated  for  practice  in  Berlin  ;  and,  as  they  have 
to  study  two  years,  there  are  always  four  of  these 
students  in  the  school,  two  graduating  every  year. 
The  remainder  of  the  students  are  from  the  provin- 
cial districts.  To  be  admitted  to  this  school  is 
considered  a  stroke  of  good  fortune  ;  as  there  are 
generally  more  than  a  hundred  applicants,  many 
of  whom  have  to  wait  eight  or  ten  years  before 
they  are  elected.  There  is,  besides,  a  great  deal  of 
favoritism  ;  those  women  being  generally  chosen 
who  are  the  widows  or  wives  of  civil  officers  or 
physicians  ;  to  whom  this  chance  of  earning  a 
livelihood  is  given,  in  order  that  they  may  not 
become  a  burden  on  the  government.  Though 
educated  apart  from  the  male  students  while 
studying  .the  theory  of  midwifery,  they  attend  the 
accouchement-ward  together,  and  receive  clinical 
or  practical  instruction  in  the  same  class,  from  the 
same  professor. 

The   male   students   of  medicine   are   admitted 
to  the  university  at  the  age  of  eighteen  ;   having 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  57 

first  been  required  to  go  through  a  prescribed 
course  of  collegiate  study,  and  to  pass  the  requisite 
examination.  Here  they  attend  the  lectures  of 
various  professors,  often  of  four  or  five  upon  the 
same  subject,  in  order  to  learn  how  it  is  treated 
from  different  points  of  view.  Then,  after  having 
thus  studied  for  a  certain  length  of  time,  they 
present  themselves  for  an  examination  by  the 
professors  of  the  university,  which  confers  upon 
them  the  title  of  "M.D.,"  without  the  right  to 
practise.  They  are  then  obliged  to  prepare  for 
what  is  called  the  State's  examination,  before  a 
Board  of  the  most  distinguished  men  in  the  pro- 
fession, appointed  to  this  place  by  the  government: 
these  also  constitute  the  medical  court.  Of  this 
number,  Dr.  Schmidt  was  one. 

Dr.  Schmidt  approved  my  resolution,  and  ex- 
pressed himself  warmly  in  favor  of  it.  He  also 
recommended  to  me  a  course  of  reading,  to  be 
commenced  at  once,  as  a  kind  of  preliminary  edu- 
cation ;  and,  although  he  had  no  influence  with  the 
committee  of  the  city  government  who  examined 
and  elected  the  pupils,  he  promised  to  call  upon 
some  of  them,  and  urge  my  election.  But,  despite 
his  recommendation  and  my  father's  position  as 
civil  officer,  I  received  a  refusal,  on  the  grounds  that 


58  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

I  was  much  too  young  (being  only  eighteen),  and 
that  I  was  unmarried.  The  latter  fault  I  did  not 
try  to  remove  ;  the  former  I  corrected  daily  ;  and, 
when  I  was  nineteen,  I  repeated  my  application, 
and  received  the  same  reply.  During  this  time, 
Dr.  Schmidt  became  more  and  more  interested  in 
me  personally.  He  promised  that  he  would  do  all 
in  his  power  to  have  me  chosen  the  next  year ; 
while,  during  this  time,  he  urged  me  to  read  and 
study  as  much  as  possible,  in  order  to  become  fully 
acquainted  with  the  subject.  As  usual,  I  continued 
to  assist  my  mother  in  visiting  her  patients,  and 
thus  had  a  fine  opportunity  for  explaining  to  myself 
many  things  which  the  mere  study  of  books  left  in 
darkness.  In  fact,  these  years  of  preliminary 
practical  study  were  more  valuable  to  me  than  all 
the  lectures  that  I  ever  listened  to  afterwards.  Full 
of  zeal  and  enthusiasm,  and  stimulated  by  a  friend 
whose  position  and  personal  acquirements  inspired 
me  with  reverence  and  devotion,  I  thought  of  no- 
thing else  than  how  to  prepare  myself  in  such  a 
way  that  I  should  not  disappoint  him  nor  those  to 
whom  he  had  commended  me.  Dr.  Schmidt  was 
consumptive,  and  almost  an  invalid ;  often  having 
to  lecture  in  a  reclining  position.  The  author  of 
many  valuable  medical  works,  and  director  of  the 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  59 

largest  hospital  in  Prussia  (the  Charite  of  Berlin), 
he  found  a  most  valuable  assistant  in  his  wife,  — 
one  of  the  noblest  women  that  ever  lived.  She 
was  always  with  him,  except  in  the  lecture-room ; 
and  almost  all  of  his  works  are  said  to  have  been 
written  by  her  from  his  dictation.  This  had  in- 
spired him  with  the  highest  possible  respect  for 
women.  He  had  the  utmost  faith  in  their  powers 
when  rightly  developed,  and  always  declared  their 
intellectual  capacity  to  be  the  same  with  that  of 
men.  This  belief  inspired  him  with  the  desire  to 
give  me  an  education  superior  to  that  of  the  com- 
mon midwives ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  to  reform 
the  school  of  midwives  by  giving  to  it  a  professor 
of  its  own  sex.  To  this  position  he  had  in  his  own 
mind  already  elected  me  ;  but,  before  I  could  take 
it,  I  had  to  procure  a  legitimate  election  from  the 
city  to  the  school  as  pupil ;  while,  during  my  at- 
tendance, he  had  to  convince  the  government  of  the 
necessity  of  such  a  reform,  as  well  as  to  bring  over 
the  medical  profession :  which  was  not  so  easily 
done  ;  for  many  men  were  waiting  already  for  Dr. 
Schmidt's  death  in  order  to  obtain  this  very  post, 
which  was  considered  valuable. 

When  I  was  twenty,  I  received  my  third  refusal. 
Dr.  Schmidt,  whose  health  was  failing  rapidly,  had 


60  A  PllACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

exerted  himself  greatly  to  secure  my  admission ; 
and  the  medical  part  of  the  committee  had  promised 
him  that  they  would  give  me  their  vote  :  but  some 
theological  influence  was  set  to  work  to  elect  one 
of  the  deaconesses  in  my  stead,  that  she  might  be 
educated  for  the  post  of  superintendent  of  the 
lying-in  ward  of  the  hospital,  which  was  under  Dr. 
Schmidt's  care.  She  also  was  rejected,  in  order 
not  to  offend  Dr.  Schmidt ;  but  for  this  he  would 
not  thank  them.  No  sooner  had  I  carried  him  the 
letter  of  refusal  than  he  ordered  his  carriage,  and, 
proceeding  to  the  royal  palace,  obtained  an  audience 
of  the  king ;  to  whom  he  related  the  refusal  of  the 
committee  to  elect  me,  on  the  ground  that  I  was  too 
young  and  unmarried,  and  entreated  of  him  a 
cabinet  order  which  should  compel  the  city  to  ad- 
mit me  to  the  school ;  adding,  that  he  saw  no  reason 
why  Germany,  as  well  as  France,  should  not  have 
and  be  proud  of  a  La  Chapellc.  The  king,  who 
held  Dr.  Schmidt  in  high  esteem,  gave  him  at  once 
the  desired  order  ;  and  I  became  legally  the  student 
of  my  friend :  though  his  praise  procured  me  in- 
tense vexation ;  for  my  name  was  dropped  entirely, 
and  I  was  only  spoken  of  as  La  Chapelle  the  Se- 
cond ;  which  would  by  no  means  have  been  unplea- 
sant, had  I  earned  the  title ;  but  to  receive  it  sneer- 


"WOMAN'S  EIGHT  TO  LABOR."  61 

ingly  in  advance,  before  having  been  allowed  to 
make  my  appearance  publicly,  was  indeed  unbeara- 
ble. 

On  the  third  day  after  his  visit  to  the  king,  Dr. 
Schmidt  received  me  into  the  class,  and  introduced 
me  to  it  as  his  future  assistant  teacher.  This  an- 
nouncement was  as  surprising  to  me  as  to  the  class ; 
but  I  took  it  quietly,  thinking  that,  if  Dr.  Schmidt 
did  not  consider  me  fit  for  the  place,  he  would  not 
risk  being  attacked  for  it  by  the  profession  en  masse, 
by  whom  he  was  watched  closely. 

On  the  same  day,  a  little  incident  occurred  which 
I  must  mention.  In  the  evening,  instead  of  going 
alone  to  the  class  for  practical  instruction,  I  accom- 
panied Dr.  Schmidt  at  his  request.  We  entered 
the  hall  where  his  assistant,  the  chief  physician, 
had  already  commenced  his  instructions.  Dr. 
Schmidt  introduced  me  to  him  as  his  private  pupil, 
to  whom  he  wished  him  to  give  particular  atten- 
tion ;  ending  by  giving  my  name.  The  physician 
hurriedly  came  up  to  me,  and  grasped  my  hand, 
exclaiming,  "  Why,  this  is  my  little  blind  doctor ! " 
I  looked  at  him,  and  recognized  the  very  Dr.  Miil- 
ler  with  whom  I  used  to  make  the  rounds  of  the 
hospital  when  twelve  years  old,  and  who  had  since 
risen  to  the  position  of  chief  physician.  This  ren- 


62  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OP 

centre,  and  the  interest  that  he  manifested  after- 
wards, greatly  relieved  Dr.  Schmidt,-  who  had 
feared  that  he  would  oppose  me,  instead  of  giving 
me  any  special  aid.  During  this  winter's  study,  I 
spent  the  most  of  the  time  in  the  hospital,  being 
almost  constantly  at  the  side  of  Dr.  Schmidt.  I 
certainly  made  the  most  of  every  opportunity ;  and 
I  scarcely  believe  it  possible  for  any  student  to 
learn  more  in  so  short  a  time  than  I  did  during  this 
winter.  I  was  continually  busy  ;  acting  even  as 
nurse,  whenever  I  could  learn  any  thing  by  it.  Dur- 
ing the  following  summer,  I  was  obliged  to  reside 
wholly  in  the  hospital  ;  this  being  a  part  of  the 
prescribed  education.  Here  I  became  acquainted 
with  all  the  different  wards,  and  had  a  fine  oppor- 
tunity to  watch  the  cases  by  myself.  In  the  mean 
time,  Dr.  Schmidt's  illness  increased  so  rapidly, 
that  he  feared  to  die  before  his  plans  in  respect  to 
me  had  been  carried  out  ;  especially  as  the  state 
of  his  health  had  compelled  him  to  give  up  his  po- 
sition as  Chief  Director  of  the  Hospital  Charite. 
His  design  was  to  make  me  chief  accoucheuse  in 
the  hospital,  and  to  surrender  into  my  hands  his 
position  as  professor  in  the  School  for  Midwives,  so 
that  I  might  have  the  entire  charge  of  the  mid- 
wives'  education.  The  opposition  to  this  plan  was 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  63 

twofold  :  firstly,  the  theological  influence  that 
sought  to  place  the  deaconess  (Sister  Catherine) 
in  the  position  of  house-midwife  ;  and,  secondly, 
the  younger  part  of  the  profession,  many  of  whom 
were  anxious  for  the  post  of  professor  in  the  School 
for  Midwives,  which  never  would  have  been  suffered 
to  fall  into  the  hands  of  Sister  Catherine.  Dr. 
Schmidt,  however,  was  determined  to  yield  to 
neither.  Personal  pride  demanded  that  he  should 
succeed  in  his  plan ;  and  several  of  the  older  and 
more  influential  members  of  the  profession  took  his 
part,  among  whom  were  Johannes  Muller,  Busch, 
JMiiller,  Kilian,  &c.  During  the  second  winter, 
his  lecturing  in  the  class  was  only  nominal ;  often 
nothing  more  than  naming  the  heads  of  the  sub- 
jects, while  I  had  to  give  the  real  instruction.  His 
idea  was  to  make  me  feel  the  full  responsibility  of 
such  a  position,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to  give  me  a 
chance  to  do  the  work  that  he  had  declared  me 
pre-eminently  capable  of  doing.  This  was  an  in- 
trigue ;  but  he  could  not  have  it  otherwise.  He 
did  not  intend  that  I  should  perform  his  duty  for 
his  benefit,  but  for  my  own.  He  wished  to  show 
to  the  government  the  fact  that  I  had  done  the  work 
of  a  man  like  himself,  and  done  it  well ;  and  that, 
if  he  had  not  told  them  of  his  withdrawal,  no  one 


64  A   PEACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

would  have  recognized  his  absence  from  the  re- 
sult. 

At  the  close  of  this  term,  I  was  obliged  to  pass 
my  examination  at  the  same  time  with  the  fifty-six 
students  who  composed  the  class.  Dr.  Schmidt 
invited  some  of  the  most  prominent  medical  men  to 
be  present,  besides  those  appointed  as  the  examin- 
ing committee.  He  informed  me  of  this  on  the  day 
before  the  examination,  saying,  "I  want  to  convince 
them  that  you  can  do  better  than  half  of  the  young 
men  at  their  examination." 

The  excitement  of  this  day  I  can  hardly  de- 
scribe. I  had  not  only  to  appear  before  a  body  of 
strangers,  of  whose  manner  of  questioning  I  had 
no  idea,  but  also  before  half  a  dozen  authorities  in 
the  profession,  assembled  especially  for  criticism. 
Picture  to  yourself  my  position  :  standing  before 
the  table  at  which  were  seated  the  three  physicians 
composing  the  examining  committee,  questioning 
me  all  the  while  in  the  most  perplexing  manner, 
with  four  more  of  the  highest  standing  on  each 
side,  —  making  eleven  in  all ;  Dr.  Schmidt  a  little 
way  off,  anxious  that  I  should  prove  true  all  that 
he  had  said  in  praise  of  me ;  and  the  rest  of  the 
class  in  the  background,  filling  up  the  large  hall. 
It  was  terrible.  The  trifling  honor  of  being  consi- 


"WOMAN'S  BIGHT  TO  LABOR."  65 

dered  capable  was  rather  dearly  purchased.  I  went 
through  the  whole  hour  bravely,  without  missing 
a  single  question  ;  until  finally  the  clock  struck 
twelve,  when  every  thing  suddenly  grew  black  be- 
fore my  eyes,  and  the  last  question  sounded  like 
a  humming  noise  in  my  ear.  I  answered  it,  — 
how,  I  know  not,  —  and  was  permitted  to  sit 
down  and  rest  for  fifteen  minutes  before  I  was 
called  to  the  practical  examination  on  the  manikin. 
I  gave  satisfaction  to  all,  and  received  the  diploma 
of  the  first  degree.  This  by  no  means  ended  the 
excitement.  The  students  of  the  year  were  next 
examined.  This  examination  continued  for  a 
week ;  after  which  the  diplomas  were  announced, 
when  it  was  found  that  never  before  had  there  been 
so  many  of  the  first  degree,  and  so  few  of  the 
third.  Dr.  Schmidt  then  made  it  known  that  this 
was  the  result  of  my  exertions,  and  I  was  pro- 
nounced a  very  capable  woman. 

This  acknowledgment  having  been  made  by  the 
medical  men  present  at  the  examination,  Dr. 
Schmidt  thought  it  would  be  an  easy  matter  to 
get  me  installed  into  the  position  for  which  I  had 
proved  myself  capable.  But  such  could  not  be  the 
case  in  a  government  ruled  by  hypocrisy  and  in- 
trigue. To  acknowledge  the  capability  of  a  woman 


G6  A  PRACTICAL    ILLUSTRATION   OF 

did  not  by  any  means  say  that  she  was  at  liberty 
to  bold  a  position  in  which  she  could  exercise  this 
capability.  German  men  are  educated  to  be  slaves 
to  the  government :  positive  freedom  is  compre- 
hended only  by  n  few.  They  generally  struggle  for 
a  kind  of  negative  freedom ;  namely,  for  themselves : 
for  each  man,  however  much  he  may  be  inclined  to 
show  his  subserviency  to  those  superior  in  rank, 
thinks  himself  the  lord  of  creation ;  and,  of  course, 
regards  woman  only  as  his  appendage.  How  can 
this  lord  of  creation,  being  a  slave  himself,  look 
upon  the  free  development  and  demand  of  recognition 
of  his  appendage  otherwise  than  as  a  nonsense,  or 
usurpation  of  his  exclusive  rights  ?  And  among 
these  lords  of  creation  I  heartily  dislike  that  class 
which  not  only  yield  to  the  influence  brought  upon 
them  by  government,  but  who  also  possess  an 
infinite  amount  of  narrowness  and  vanity,  united 
to  as  infinite  servility  to  money  and  position. 
There  is  not  ink  and  paper  enough  in  all  the 
world  to  write  down  the  contempt  I  feel  for  men 
in  whose  power  it  is  to  be  free  in  thought  and 
noble  in  action,  and  who  act  to  the  contrary  to 
feed  their  ambition  or  their  purses.  I  have  learned, 
perhaps,  too  much  of  their  spirit  for  my  own  good. 
You  can  hardly  believe  what  I  experienced,  in 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  67 

respect  to  intrigue,  within  the  few  months  following 
my  examination.  All  the  members  of  the  medical 
profession  were  unwilling  that  a  woman  should 
take  her  place  on  .a  level  with  them.  All  the  diplo- 
matists became  fearful  that  Dr.  Schmidt  intended 
to  advocate  the  question  of  "woman's  rights;"  one 
of  them  exclaiming  one  evening,  in  the  heat  of 
discussion,  "  For  Heaven's  sake !  the  Berlin  women 
are  already  wiser  than  all  the  men  of  Prussia: 
what  will  become  of  us  if  we  allow  them  to 
manifest  it  ?  "  I  was  almost  forgotten  in  the  five 
months  during  which  the  question  was  debated: 
it  became  more  than  a  matter  of  personal  intrigue. 
The  real  question  at  stake  was,  "  How  shall  women 
be  educated,  and  what  is  their  true  sphere  ?  "  and 
this  was  discussed  with  more  energy  and  spirit 
than  ever  has  been  done  here  in  America. 

Scores  of  letters  were  written  by  Dr.  Schmidt  to 
convince  the  government  that  a  woman  could  really 
be  competent  to  hold  the  position  in  question,  and 
that  I  had  been  pronounced  so  by  the  whole  Faculty. 
The  next  objection  raised  was  that  my  father  was 
known  as  holding  revolutionary  principles  ;  and  to 
conquer  this,  cost  a  long  discussion,  with  many 
interviews  of  the  officials  with  my  father  and  Dr. 
Schmidt.  The  next  thing  urged  was  that  I  was 


68  A  PRACTICAL  ILLUSTRATION  OF 

much  too  young  ;  that  it  would  be  necessary,  in  the 
course  of  my  duties,  to  instruct  the  young  men 
also  ;  and  that  there  was  danger  in  our  thus  being 
thrown  together.  In  fact,  this  reason,  read  to  me 
by  Dr.  Schmidt  from  one  of  the  letters  written  at 
this  time  (all  of  which  are  still  carefully  preserved) , 
runs  thus  :  "  To  give  this  position  to  Miss  M.  E. 
Zakrzewska  is  dangerous.  She  is  a  prepossessing 
young  lady ;  and,  from  coming  in  contact  with  so 
many  gentlemen,  must  necessarily  fall  in  love  with 
some  one  of  them,  and  thus  end  her  career."  To 
this  I  have  only  to  reply,  that  I  am  sorry  that  I 
could  not  have  found  one  among  them  that  could 
have  made  me  follow  the  suggestion.  This  objec- 
tion, however,  seemed  for  a  while  the  most  difficult 
to  be  met:  for  it  was  well  known,  that,  when  a 
student  myself,  I  had  stood  on  the  most  friendly 
terms  with  my  fellow-students,  and  that  they  had 
often  taken  my  part  in  little  disturbances  that 
naturally  came  up  in  an  establishment  where  no 
one  was  permitted  to  enter  or  to  leave  without 
giving  a  reason,  and  where  even  my  private  pa- 
tients were  sent  away  at  the  door  because  I  did 
not  know  of  their  coming,  and  could  not  announce 
to  the  doorkeeper  the  name  and  residence  of  those 
who  might  possibly  call. 


"WOMAN'S   EIGHT   TO   LABOR."  69 

That  this  difficulty  was  finally  conquered,  I  have 
to  thank  the  students  themselves..  My  relation 
with  these  young  men  was  of  the  pleasantest  kind. 
They  never  seemed  to  think  that  I  was  not  of  their 
sex,  but  always  treated  me  like  one  of  themselves. 
I  knew  of  their  studies  and  their  amusements; 
yes,  even  of  the  mischievous  pranks  that  they 
were  planning  both  for  college  and  for  social  life. 
They  often  made  me  their  confidante  in  their  pri- 
vate affairs,  and  were  more  anxious  for  my  approval 
or  forgiveness  than  for  that  of  their  relatives.  I 
learned,  during  this  time,  how  great  is  the  friendly 
influence  of  a  woman  even  upon  fast-living  and 
licentious  young  men ;  and  this  has  done  more  to 
convince  me  of  the  necessity  that  the  two  sexes 
should  live  together  from  infancy,  than  all  the 
theories  and  arguments  that  are  brought  to  con- 
vince the  mass  of  this  fact.  As  soon  as  it  became 
known  among  the  students  that  my  youth  was  the 
new  objection,  they  treated  it  in  such  a  manner  that 
the  whole  thing  was  transformed  into  a  ridiculous 
bugbear,  growing  out  of  the  imagination  of  the 
virtuous  opposers. 

Nothing  now  seemed  left  in  the  way  of  my  attain- 
ing to  the  position  ;  when  suddenly  it  dawned  upon 
the  mind  of  some  that  I  was  irreligious ;  that  neither 


70  A   PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

my  father  nor  my  mother  attended  church ;  and  that, 
under  such  circumstances,  I  could  not,  of  course, 
be  a  church-goer.  Fortunately,  I  had  complied 
with  the  requirements  of  the  law,  and  could  there- 
fore bring  my  certificate  of  confirmation  from  one 
of  the  Protestant  churches.  By  the  advice  of  Dr. 
Schmidt,  I  commenced  to  attend  church  regularly, 
and  continued  until  a  little  incident  happened  which 
I  must  relate  here.  One  Sunday,  just  after  the 
sermon  was  over,  I  remembered  that  I  had  forgot- 
ten to  give  instructions  to  the  nurse  in  respect  to 
a  patient,  and  left  the  church  without  waiting  for 
the  end  of  the  service.  The  next  morning,  I  was 
summoned  to  answer  to  the  charge  of  leaving  the 
church  at  an  improper  time.  The  inquisitor  (who 
was  one  of  those  who  had  accused  me  of  irreligion), 
being  vexed  that  I  contradicted  him  by  going  to 
church  regularly,  was  anxious  to  make  me  confess 
that  I  did  not  care  for  the  service  :  but  I  saw 
through  his  policy  as  well  as  his  hypocrisy,  and 
simply  told  him  the  truth  ;  namely,  that  I  had 
forgotten  important  business,  and  therefore  thought 
it  excusable  to  leave  as  soon  as  the  sermon  was 
over.  Whether  he  sought  to  lure  me  on  to  further 
avowals,  I  know  not :  but,  whatever  was  his 
motive,  he  asked  me,  in  reply,  whether  I  believed 


"WOMAN'S  EIGHT  TO  LABOR."  71 

that  he  cared  for  the  humdrum  custom  of  church- 
going,  and  whether  I  thought  him  imbecile  enough 
to  consider  this  as  any  thing  more  than  the  means 
by  which  to  keep  the'  masses  in  check  ;  adding,  that 
it  was  the  duty  of  the  intelligent  to  make  the  affair 
respectable  by  setting  the  example  of  going  them- 
selves ;  and  that  he  only  wished  me  to  act  on  this 
principle,  when  all  accusations  of  irreligiou  would 
fall  to  the  ground.  I  had  always  known  that  this 
man  was  not  my  friend :  but,  when  I  heard  this,  I 
felt  disenchanted  with  the  whole  world ;  for  I  had 
never  thought  him  more  than  a  hypocrite,  whereas 
I  found  him  the  meanest  of  Jesuits,  both  in  theory 
and  practice.  I  was  thoroughly  indignant ;  the 
more  so,  since  I  felt  guilty  myself  in  going  to 
church  simply  to  please  Dr.  Schmidt.  I  do  not 
remember  what  answer  I  gave  ;  but  I  know  that 
my  manners  and  words  made  it  evident  that  I  con- 
sidered him  a  villain.  He  never  forgave  me  this,  as 
all  his  future  acts  proved  to  me :  for,  in  his  position 
of  chief  director  of  the  hospital,  he  had  it  in  his 
power,  more  than  any  on^  else,  to  annoy  me ;  and 
that  he  did  so,  you  will  presently  see. 

The  constant  opposition  and  attendant  excite- 
ment, together  with  the  annoyances  which  my 
father,  as  civil  officer,  had  to  endure,  made  him 


72  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OP 

resolve  to  present  a  declaration  to  the  government, 
that  I  should  never,  with  his  consent,  enter  tin- 
position.  He  had  become  so  tired  of  my  efforts  to 
become  a  public  character  in  my  profession,  that 
he  suddenly  conceived  the  wish  to  have  me  mar- 
ried. Now,  take  for  a  moment  into  consideration 
the  facts  that  I  was  but  twenty-two  years  of  age, 
full  of  sanguine  enthusiasm  for  my  vocation,  and 
strong  in  the  friendship  of  Dr.  Schmidt.  He  had 
inspired  me  with  the  idea  of  a  career  different  from 
the  common  routine  of  domestic  life.  My  mother, 
overcoming  her  repugnance  to  my  entering  my  pro- 
fession, had  been  my  best  friend,  encouraging  me 
steadily  ;  while  my  father,  yielding  to  the  troubles 
that  it  involved,  had  become  disgusted  with  it,  and 
wished  me  to  abandon  my  career.  lie  was  stern, 
and  would  not  take  back  his  word.  I  could  do  no- 
thing without  his  consent ;  while  Dr.  Schmidt  had 
finally  overcome  all  difficulties,  and  had  the  pro- 
spect of  victory  if  my  father  would  but  yield.  A 
few  weeks  of  this  life  were  sufficient  to  drive  one 
mad,  and  I  am  sure  that  I  was  near  becoming  so. 
I  was  resolved  to  run  away  from  home  or  to  kill  my- 
self, while  my  father  was  equally  resolved  to  marry 
me  to  a  man  of  whom  I  did  not  know  the  sight. 
Matters  finally  came  to  a  crisis  through  the  illness 


"WOMAN'S  EIGHT  TO  LABOR."  73 

of  Dr.  Schmidt,  whose  health  failed  so  rapidly,  that 
it  was  thought  dangerous  to  let  him  be  longer  excit- 
ed by  the  fear  of  not  realizing  his  favorite  scheme. 
Some  of  his  medical  advisers  influenced  the  govern- 
ment to  appeal  to  my  father  to  withdraw  his  de- 
claration ;  which,  satisfied  with  the  honor  thus  done 
him,  he  did  on  the  1st  of  May,  1852.  On  the 
15th  of  May,  I  received  my  legal  instalment  to 
the  position  for  which  DF.  Schmidt  had  designed 
me.  The  joy  that  I  felt  was  great  beyond  expres- 
sion. A  youthful  enthusiast  of  twenty-two,  I  stood 
at  the  height  of  my  wishes  and  expectations.  I  had 
obtained  what  others  only  could  obtain  after  the 
protracted  labor  of  half  a  lifetime ;  and  already  I 
saw  myself  in  imagination  occupying  the  place 
of  Dr.  Schmidt's  aspirations,  —  that  of  a  German 
La  Chapelle.  No  one,  that  has  not  passed  at  the 
same  age  through  the  same  excitement,  can  ever 
comprehend  the  fulness  of  my  rejoicing,  which 
was  not  wholly  selfish-;  for  I  knew  that  nothing  in 
the  world  would  please  Dr.  Schmidt  so  much  as 
this  victory.  The  wildest  joy  of  an  accepted 
suitor  is  a  farce  compared  to  my  feelings  on  the 
morning  of  that  15th  of  May.  I  was  reconciled  to 
my  bitterest  opponents  :  I  could  even  have  thanked 
them  for  their  opposition,  since  it  had  made  the 


74  A  PRACTICAL  ILLUSTRATION  OP 

success  so  much  the  sweeter.  Not  the  slightest 
feeling  of  triumph  was  in  my  heart ;  all  was  hap- 
piness and  rejoicing :  and  it  was  in  this  condition 
of  mind  and  heart  that  I  put  on  my  bonnet  and 
shawl  to  carry  the  good  news  to  Dr.  Schmidt. 
"Without  waiting  to  be  announced,  I  hastened  to 
his  parlor,  where  I  found  him  sitting  with  his  wife 
upon  the  sofa.  I  did  not  walk,  but  flew,  towards 
them,  and  threw  the  letter  upon  the  table,  ex- 
claiming, "  There  is  the  victory ! "  Like  a  confla- 
gration, my  joy  spread  to  Dr.  Schmidt  as  well  as  to 
his  wife,  who  thought  that  she  saw  in  these  tidings 
a  cup  of  new  life  for  her  husband.  I  only  staid 
long  enough  to  accept  their  congratulations.  Dr. 
Schmidt  told  me  to  be  sure  to  come  the  next 
morning  to  enter  legally  upon  my  duties  at  his 
side.  Meanwhile,  he  gave  me  a  vacation  for  the 
afternoon  to  see  my  friends  and  carry  them  the 
news.  lie  saw  that  I  needed  the  open  air,  and 
felt  that  he,  too,  must  have  it  to  counteract  his  joy. 
I  went  to  tell  my  father  and  several  friends,  and 
spent  the  day  in  blissful  ignorance  of  the  dreadful 
event  that  was  transpiring. 

The  next  morning,  at  seven  o'clock,  I  left  home 
to  go  to  my  residence  in  the  hospital.  I  had  not 
slept  during  the  night :  the  youthful  fire  of  enthu- 


"WOMAN'S  BIGHT  TO  LABOR."  75 

siasm  burnt  too  violently  to  allow  me  any  rest. 
The  old  doorkeeper  opened  the  door  for  me,  and 
gazed  at  me  with  an  air  of  surprise.  "  What  is  the 
matter  ?  "  I  asked.  "  I  am  astonished  to  see  you 
so  cheerful,"  said  he.  "  Why  ?  "  I  asked  with 
astonishment.  "  Don't  you  know  that  Dr.  Schmidt 
is  dead?"  was  the  answer.  Dr.  Schmidt  dead! 
I  trembled ;  I  staggered  ;  I  fell  upon  a  chair.  The 
beautiful  entrance-hall,  serving  also  as  a  green- 
house during  the  winter,  filled  in  every  place  with 
flowers  and  tropical  fruit,  faded  from  my  eyes ;  and 
in  its  stead  I  saw  nothing  but  laughing  faces,  dis- 
torted with  scorn  and  mockery.  A  flood  of  tears 
cooled  the  heat  of  my  brain,  and  a  calmness  like 
that  of  death  soon  took  possession  of  me.  I  had 
fallen  from  the  topmost  height  of  joy  and  happiness 
to  the  profoundest  depth  of  disappointment  and  de- 
spair. If  there  were  nothing  else  to  prove  the 
strength  of  my  mind,  the  endurance  of  this  sudden 
change  would  be  sufficient. 

I  went  at  once  to  Dr.  Schmidt's  residence  in  the 
Hospital  Park,  where  I  met  him  again,  not  as  I 
had  expected  an  hour  before,  ready  to  go  with  me  to 
the  hospital  -  department  which  I  was  henceforth 
to  superintend,  but  a  corpse.  After  I  had  left  the 
day  before,  he  had  expressed  a  wish  to  go  into 


76  A  PRACTICAL  ILLUSTRATION  OF 

the  open  air,  he  being  not  much  less  excited  than 
myself.  Mrs.  Schmidt  ordered  the  carriage,  and 
they  drove  to  the  large  park.  He  talked  constantly 
and  excitedly  about  the  satisfaction  that  he  felt  in 
this  success,  until  they  arrived ;  when  he  wished  to 
get  out  of  the  carriage,  and  walk  with  his  wife. 
Mrs.  Schmidt  consented;  but  they  had  scarcely 
taken  a  few  steps  when  he  sank  to  the  ground, 
and  a  gush  of  blood  from  his  mouth  terminated  his 
existence. 

I  left  Dr.  Schmidt's  house,  and  entered  alone 
into  the  wards,  where  I  felt  that  I  was  without 
friendly  encouragement  and  support.  During  the 
three  days  that  intervened  before  the  burial  of  Dr. 
Schmidt,  I  was  hardly  conscious  of  any  thing,  but 
moved  about  mechanically  like  an  automaton.  The 
next  few  days  were  days  of  confusion ;  for  the 
death  of  Dr.  Schmidt  had  left  so  many  places  va- 
cant, that  some  fifty  persons  were  struggling  to 
obtain  some  one  of  his  offices.  The  eagerness, 
servility,  and  meanness  which  these  educated  men 
displayed  in  striving  to  conquer  their  rivals  was 
more  than  disgusting.  The  serpents  that  lie  in 
wait  for  their  prey  are  endurable;  for  we  know 
that  it  is  their  nature  to  be  cunning  and  relentless  : 
but  to  see  men  of  intellect  and  education  sly  and 


"WOMAN'S  EIGHT  TO  LABOR."  77 

snaky,  ferocious,  yet  servile  to  the  utmost,  makes 
one  almost  believe  in  total  depravity.  The  most 
of  these  men  got  what  they  deserved ;  namely, 
nothing :  the  places  were  filled  temporarily  with 
others,  and  every  thing  went  on  apparently  as  be- 
fore. My  position  soon  became  very  disagreeable. 
I  had  received  my  instalment,  not  because  I  was 
wanted  by  the  directors  of  the  hospital,  but  be- 
cause they  had  been  commanded  by  the  govern- 
ment to  accept  me  in  the  hope  of  thus  prolonging  the 
life  of  Dr.  Schmidt.  Young  and  inexperienced  in 
petty  intrigue,  I  had  now  to  work  without  friendly 
encouragement  and  appreciation,  with  no  one 
about  me  in  whom  I  had  a  special  interest ;  while 
every  one  was  regretting  that  the  instalment  had 
been  given  me  before  Dr.  Schmidt's  death,  which 
might  have  happened  just  as  well  from  some  other 
excitement,  in  an  establishment  where  three  thou- 
sand people  were  constantly  at  war  about  each 
other's  affairs.  I  surveyed  the  whole  arena,  and 
saw  very  well,  that,  unless  I  practised  meanness  and 
dishonesty  as  well  as  the  rest,  I  could  not  remain 
there  for  any  length  of  time  ;  for  scores  were  ready 
to  calumniate  me  whenever  there  was  the  least 
thing  to  be  gained  by  it. 

I  was  about  to  commence  a  new  period  of  life. 


78  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OP 

I  had  a  solid  structure  as  a  foundation ;  but  the 
superstructure  had  been  built  up  in  so  short  a  time, 
that  a  change  of  wind  would  suffice  to  cast  it  down. 
I  resolved,  therefore,  to  tear  it  down  myself,  and  to 
begin  to  build  another  upon  the  carefully  laid  basis  ; 
and  only  waited  for  an  opportunity  to  manifest  my 
intention.  This  opportunity  soon  presented  itself. 
Sister  Catherine,  the  deaconess  of  whom  I  have 
spoken,  who  had  been  allowed  to  attend  the  School 
of  Midwives  after  my  election,  through  the  influence 
of  her  theological  friends  upon  Dr.  Schmidt  (the 
city  magistrates  having  refused  her  because  I  was 
already  the  third  accepted  pupil),  had  as  yet  no 
position  :  and  these  friends  now  sought  to  make  her 
the  second  accoucheuse  ;  I  having  the  first  position, 
with  the  additional  title  of  Chief.  This  she  would 
not  accept.  She,  the  experienced  deaconess,  who 
had  been  a  Florence  Nightingale  in  the  typhus 
epidemic  of  Silesia,  was  unwilling  to  be  under  the 
supervision  of  a  woman  who  had  nothing  to  show 
but  a  thorough  education,  and  who  was,  besides, 
eight  years  younger  than  herself.  Her  refusal 
made  my  enemies  still  more  hostile.  Why  they 
were  so  anxious  for  her  services,  I  can  only  ex- 
plain by  supposing  that  the  directors  of  the  hospital 
wished  to  annoy  Pastor  Fliedner,  the  originator  of 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  79 

the  Kaiserswerth  Sisterhood ;  for,  in  placing  Sister 
Catherine  in  this  position,  they  robbed  him  of  one 
of  the  very  best  nurses  that  he  ever  had  in  his  in- 
stitution. 

My  desire  to  reconcile  the  government  of  the 
hospital,  in  order  that  I  might  have  peace  in  my 
position  to  pursue  my  development  and  education 
so  as  to  realize  and  manifest  to  the  people  the 
truth  of  what  Dr.  Schmidt  had  affirmed  of  me, 
induced  me  to  go  to  one  of  the  directors,  and  pro- 
pose that  Sister  Catherine  should  be  installed  on 
equal  terms  with  me  ;  offering  to  drop  the  title  of 
Chief,  and  to  consent  that  the  department  should 
be  divided  into  two.  My  proposition  was  accepted 
nominally,  and  Sister  Catherine  was  installed,  but 
with  a  third  less  salary  than  I  received ;  while  I 
had  to  give  the  daily  reports,  &c.,  and  to  take  the 
chief  responsibility  of  the  whole.  Catherine  was 
quite  friendly  to  me  ;  and  I  was  happy  in  the 
thought  that  there  was  now  one  at  least  who  would 
stand  by  me,  should  any  difficulties  occur.  How 
much  I  was  mistaken  in  the  human  heart !  This 
pious,  sedate  woman,  towards  whom  my  heart 
yearned  with  friendship,  was  my  greatest  enemy ; 
though  I  did  not  know  it  until  after  my  arrival  in 
America. 


80  A   PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION    OF 

A  few  weeks  afterwards,  the  city  petitioned  to 
have  a  number  of  women  instructed  in  the  practice 
of  midwifery.  These  women  were  all  experienced 
nurses,  who  had  taken  the  liberty  to  practise  this 
art  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  from  what  they  had 
learned  of  it  while  nursing ;  and,  to  put  an  end  to 
this  unlawful  practice,  they  had  been  summoned 
before  an  examining  committee,  and  the  youngest 
and  best  educated  chosen  to  be  instructed  as  the 
law  required.  Dr.  Muller,  the  pathologist,  was 
appointed  to  superintend  the  theoretical,  and  Dr. 
Ebert  the  practical,  instruction.  Dr.  Muller,  who 
never  had  given  this  kind  of  instruction  before, 
and  who  was  a  special  friend  of  mine,  immediately 
surrendered  the  whole  into  my  hands ;  while  Dr. 
Ebert,  whose  time  was  almost  wholly  absorbed  in 
the  department  of  the  diseases  of  children,  appoint- 
ed me  as  his  assistant.  Both  gentlemen  gave  me 
certificates  of  this  when  I  determined  to  emigrate 
to  America. 

The  marked  preference  for  my  wards  that  had 
always  been  shown  by  the  male  students  was  shared 
by  these  women  when  they  came.  Sister  Cathe- 
rine was  neither  ambitious  nor  envious  ;  yet  she  felt 
that  she  was  the  second  in  place.  Drs.  Muller 
and  Ebert  never  addressed  themselves  to  her ;  nei- 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  81 

tber  did  they  impress  the  nurses  and  the  servants 
with  the  idea  that  she  was  any  thing  more  than  the 
head-nurse.  All  these  things  together  made  her 
a  spy ;  and,  though  nothing  happened  for  which  I 
could  be  reproved,  all  that  I  said  and  did  was 
watched  and  secretly  reported.  Under  a  despotic 
government,  the  spy  is  as  necessary  as  the  corporal. 
The  annoyance  of  this  reporting  is,  that  the  secrecy 
exists  only  for  the  one  whom  it  concerns  ;  while  the 
subaltern  officers  and  servants  receive  hints  that 
such  a  person  is  kept  under  constant  surveillance. 
When  it  was  found  that  no  occasion  offered  to  find 
fault  with  me,  our  administrative  inspector  was 
removed,  and  a  surly  old  corporal  put  in  his  place, 
with  the  hint  that  the  government  of  the  hospital 
thought  that  the  former  inspector  did  not  perform 
his  duty  rightly,  since  he  never  reported  disturb- 
ance in  a  ward  that  had  been  notorious  as  being  the 
most  disorderly  in  former  times.  The  truth  was, 
that,  in  my  innocence  of  heart,  I  had  been  striving 
to  gain  the  respect  and  friendship  of  my  enemies 
by  doing  my  work  better  than  any  before  me  had 
done.  To  go  to  bed  at  night  regularly  was  a  thing 
unknoAvn  to  me.  Once  I  was  not  undressed  for 
twenty-one  days  and  nights ;  superintending  and 
giving  instructions  on  six  or  eight  confinement  cases 


82  A   PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

in  every  twenty-four  hours  ;  lecturing  three  hours 
every  afternoon  to  the  class  of  midwives  ;  giving 
clinical  lectures  to  them  twice  a  week,  for  an  hour 
in  the  morning ;  superintending  the  care  of  some 
twenty  infants,  who  were  epidemically  attacked  with 
purulent  ophthalmia  ;  and  having,  besides,  the  ge- 
neral supervision  of  the  whole  department.  But 
all  this  could  not  overcome  the  hostility  of  my  ene- 
mies, the  chief  cause  of  which  lay  in  the  mortifica- 
tion at  having  been  vanquished  by  my  appointment. 
On  the  other  hand,  I  was  happy  in  the  thought  that 
Mrs.  Schmidt  continued  to  take  the  same  interest 
in  me  as  before,  and  was  glad  to  heat  of  my  partial 
success.  The  students,  both  male  and  female,  were 
devoted  to  me,  and  manifested  their  gratitude  openly 
and  frankly.  This  was  the  greatest  compensation 
that  I  received  for  my  work.  The  women  wished 
to  show  their  appreciation  by  paying  me  for  the 
extra  labor  that  I  performed  in  their  instruction  ; 
not  knowing  the  fact,  that  I  did  it  simply  in 
order  that  they  might  pass  an  examination  which 
should  again  convince  the  committee  that  I  was  in 
the  right  place.  I  forbade  them  all  payment,  as  I 
had  refused  it  to  the  male  students  when  they 
wished  to  pay  me  for  their  extra  instruction  on  the 
manikin :  but  in  a  true,  womanly  way,  they  ma- 


"WOMAN'S   EIGHT   TO   LABOR."  83 

naged  to  learn  the  date  of  my  birthday ;  when  two  or 
three,  instead  of  attending  the  lecture,  took  posses- 
sion of  my  room,  which  they  .decorated  with  flowers ; 
while  en  the  table  they  displayed  presents  to  the 
amount  of  some  hundred  and  twenty  dollars,  Avhich 
the  fifty-six  women  of  the  class  had  collected  among 
themselves.  This  was,  of  course,  a  great  surprise  to 
me,  and  really  made  me  feel  sad ;  for  I  did  not 
wish  for  things  of  this  sort.  I  wished  to  prove  that 
unselfishness  was  the  real  motive  of  my  work ;  and 
thought  that  I  should  finally  earn  the  crown  of 
appreciation  from  my  enemies,  for  which  I  was 
striving.  This  gift  crossed  all  my  plans.  I  must 
accept  it,  if  I  would  not  wound  the  kindest  of  hearts ; 
yet  I  felt  that  I  lost  my  game  by  so  doing.  I 
quietly  packed  every  thing  into  a  basket,  and  put  it 
out  of  sight  under  the  bed,  in  order  that  I  might 
not  be  reminded  of  my  loss.  Of  course,  all  these 
things  were  at  once  reported.  I  saw  in  the  faces  of 
many  that  something  was  in  agitation,  and  waited 
a  fortnight  in  constant  expectation  of  its  coming. 
But  these  people  wished  to  crush  me  entirely.  They 
knew  well  that  a  blow  comes  hardest  when  least 
expected,  and  therefore  kept  quiet  week  after  week, 
until  I  really  began  to  ask  their  pardon  in  my  heart 
for  having  done  them  the  wrong  to  expect  them  to 


84  A   PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

act  meanly  about  a  thing  that  was  natural  and 
allowable.  In  a  word,  I  became  quiet  and  happy 
again  in  the  performance  of  my  duties ;  until  sud- 
denly, six  weeks  after  my  birthday,  I  was  sum- 
moned to  the  presence  of  Director  Horn  (the  same 
who  had  reprimanded  me  for  leaving  the  church), 
who  received  me  with  a  face  as  hard  and  stern  as 
an  avenging  judge,  and  asked  me  whether  I  knew 
that  it  was  against  the  law  to  receive  any  other 
payment  than  that  given  me  by  the  hospital.  Upon 
my  avowing  that  I  did,  he  went  on  to  ask  how  it 
was,  then,  that  I  had  accepted  gifts  on  my  birthday. 
This  question  fell  upon  me  like  a  thunderbolt ;  for 
I  never  had  thought  of  looking  upon  these  as  a 
payment.  Had  these  women  paid  me  for  the  in- 
struction that  I  gave  them  beyond  that  which  was 
prescribed,  they  ought  each  one  to  have  given  me 
the  value  of  the  presents.  I  told  him  this  in  reply, 
and  also  how  disagreeable  the  acceptance  had  been 
to  me,  and  how  ready  I  was  to  return  the  whole  at 
his  command ;  since  it  had  been  my  desire  to  prove, 
not  only  my  capability,  but  my  unselfishness  in  the 
work.  The  man  was  ashamed  ;  I  saw  it  in  his  face 
as  he  turned  it  away  from  me :  yet  he  saw  in  me 
a  proof  that  he  had  been  vanquished  in  intrigue, 
and  was  resolved  that  the  occasion  should  end  in 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  85 

my  overthrow.  Much  more  was  said  about  the 
presents  and  their  significance ;  and  I  soon  ceased 
to  be  the  humble  woman,  and  spoke  boldly  what  I 
thought,  in  defiance  of  his  authority,  as  I  had  done 
at  the  time  of  the  religious  conversation  (by  the 
way,  I  never  attended  church  again  after  that  in- 
terview). The  end  was,  that  L  declared  my  readi- 
ness to  leave  the  hospital.  He  wished  to  inflict 
direct  punishment  on  me  ;  and  forbade  me  to  be 
present  at  the  examination  of  the  class,  which  was 
to  take  place  the  next  day.  This  was  really  a 
hard  penalty,  to  which  he  was  forced  for  his  own 
sake  ;  for,  if  I  had  been  present,  I  should  hare  told 
the  whole  affair  to  men  of  a  nobler  stamp,  who 
would  have  opposed,  as  they  afterwards  did,  my 
leaving  a  place  which  I  filled  to  their  entire  satis- 
faction. 

I  made  my  preparations  to  leave  the  hospital  on 
the  loth  of  November.  What  was  I  to  do?  I 
was  not  made  to  practise  quietly,  as  is  commonly 
done :  my  education  and  aspirations  demanded 
more  than  this.  For  the  time,  I  could  do  nothing 
more  than  inform  my  patients  that  I  intended  to 
practise  independently.  My  father  again  wished 
that  I  should  marry ;  and  I  began  to  ask  myself, 
whether  marriage  is  an  institution  to  relieve  pa- 


86  A   PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

rents  from  embarrassment.  When  troubled  about 
the  future  of  a  son,  parents  are  ready  to  give  him 
to  the  army;  when  in  fears  of  the  destiny  of  a 
daughter,  they  induce  her  to  become  the  slave  of 
the  marriage  bond.  I  never  doubted  that  it  was 
more  unendurable  and  unworthy  to  be  a  wife  with- 
out love,  than  a  soldier  without  a  special  calling 
for  that  profession  ;  and  I  never  could  think  of 
marriage  as  the  means  to  procure  a  shelter  and 
bread. 

I  had  so  many  schemes  in  my  head,  that  I  would 
not  listen  to  his  words.  Among  these  was  espe- 
cially the  wish  to  emigrate  to  America.  The  Penn- 
sylvania Female  Medical  College  had  sent  its  first 
Report  to  Dr.  Schmidt,  who  had  informed  me  of  it 
as  well  as  his  colleagues,  and  had  advocated  the 
justice  of  such  a  reform.  This  fact  occurred  to 
my  memory  ;  and,  for  the  next  two  months,  I  did 
nothing  but  speculate  how  to  carry  out  my  design 
of  emigration.  I  had  lived  rather  expensively  and 
lavishly,  without  thinking  of  laying  up  any  money  ; 
and  my  whole  fortune,  when  I  left  the  Charite,  con- 
sisted of  sixty  dollars. 

One  thing  happened  in  connection  with  my  leav- 
ing the  hospital,  which  I  must  relate  here.  Di- 
rector Horn  was  required  to  justify  his  conduct  to 


"WOMAN'S  EIGHT  TO  LABOR."  87 

the  minister  to  whom  the  change  had  to  be  reported  ; 
and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  hear  the  accusa- 
tion, and  pass  judgment  upon  the  affair.  As  this 
was  done  in  secrecy  and  not  before  a  jury,  and  as 
the  accuser  was  a  man  of  high  rank,  I  knew  nothing 
of  it  until  Christmas  Eve,  when  I  received  a  docu- 
ment, stating  that,  as  a  gratification  for  my  services 
for  the  benefit  of  the  city  of  Berlin  in  instructing  the 
class  of  midwives,  a  compensation  was  decreed  me 
of  fifty  dollars.  This  was  a  large  sum  for  Berlin, 
such  as  was  only  given  on  rare  occasions.  I  was 
also  informed  that  Director  Horn  was  instructed  to 
give  me,  should  I  ever  demand  it,  a  first-class  cer- 
tificate of  what  my  position  had  been  in  the  hospi- 
tal, with  the  title  of  Chief  attached.  Whatever  I 
had  suffered  from  the  injustice  of  my  enemies, 
I  was  now  fully  recompensed.  I  inquired  who 
had  taken  my  part  so  earnestly  against  Director 
Horn  as  to  gain  this  action,  and  found  that  it  was 
Dr.  M uller  the  pathologist,  backed  by  several 
other  physicians.  Director  Horn,  it  was  said,  was 
greatly  humiliated  by  the  decision  of  Minister  von 
Raumer,  who  could  not  see  the  least  justice  in  his 
conduct  in  this  matter ;  and,  had  I  not  left  the 
hospital  so  readily,  I  should  never  have  stood  so 
firmly  as  after  this  secret  trial. 


88  A   PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

It  was  done,  however ;  and  I  confidently  told  my 
mother  of  my  design  to  emigrate.  Between  my 
mother  and  myself  there  existed,  not  merely  the 
strongest  relation  of  maternal  and  filial  love,  but  also 
a  professional  sympathy  and  peculiar  friendship, 
which  was  the  result  of  two  similar  minds  and  hearts, 
and  which  made  me  stand  even  nearer  to  her  than 
as  a  child  I  could  possibly  have  done.  She  consented 
with  heart  and  soul,  encouraged  me  in  all  my  plans 
and  expectations,  and  asked  me  at  once  at  what 
time  I  would  leave.  I  next  told  my  father  and  the 
rest  of  the  family  of  my  plan.  My  third  sister 
(Anna),  a  beautiful,  joyous  young  girl,  exclaimed, 
"  And  I  will  go  with  you ! "  My  father,  who 
would  not  listen  to  my  going  alone,  at  once  con- 
sented to  our  going  together.  But  I  thought  dif- 
ferently. In  going  alone,  I  risked  only  my  own 
happiness :  in  going  with  her,  I  risked  hers  too ; 
while  I  should  be  constantly  restricted  in  my  ad- 
venturous undertaking  from  having  her  with  me, 
who  knew  nothing  of  the  world  save  the  happiness 
of  a  tranquil  family  life.  The  next  day,  I  told 
them  that  I  had  changed  my  mind,  and  should  not 
go  away,  but  should  establish  myself  in  Berlin. 
Of  course,  I  received  a  torrent  of  gibes  on  my  fic- 
kleness ;  for  they  did  not  understand  my  feelings  in 


"WOMAN'S  EIGHT  TO  LABOR."  89 

respect  to  the  responsibility  that  I  feared  to  take 
for  my  younger  sister. 

I  began  to  establish  myself  in  practice.  Mrs. 
Schmidt,  who  was  anxious  to  assist  me  in  my  new 
career,  suggested  to  those  physicians  who  were  my 
friends  the  establishment  of  a  private  hospital, 
which  should  be  under  my  care.  She  found  them 
strongly  in  favor  of  the  plan  ;  and,  had  I  not  been 
constantly  speculating  about  leaving  for  America, 
this  scheme  would  have  been  realized.  But  I  had 
resolved  to  emigrate,  and  took  my  measures  ac- 
cordingly. I  went  secretly  to  Drs.  Miiller  and 
Ebert,  and  procured  certificates  from  them  attest- 
ing my  position  in  respect  to  them  in  the  hospital. 
I  then  obtained  the  certificate  from  Director  Horn, 
and  carried  them  all  to  the  American  Charge  d' Af- 
faires (Theodore  S.  Fay)  to  have  them  legalized  in 
English,  so  that  they,  could  be  of  service  to  me 
in  America.* 


*  "  The  undersigned,  Secretary  of  Legation  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  certifies  that  Miss  Marie  Elizabeth  Zakr- 
zewska  has  exhibited  to  him  very  strong  recommendations  from 
the  highest  professional  authorities  of  Prussia,  as  a  scientific, 
practical,  experienced  accoucheuse  of  unusual  talent  and  skill. 
She  has  been  chief  accoucheuse  in  the  Royal  Hospital  of  Berlin, 
and  possesses  a  certificate  of  her  superiority  from  the  Board  of 
Directors  of  that  institution.  She  has  not  only  manifested  great 


90  A  PRACTICAL  ILLUSTRATION   OF 

When  I  told  Drs.  Ebcrt  and  Miillcr  and  Mrs. 
Schmidt  of  my  intention  to  emigrate,  they  pro- 
nounced me  insane.  They  thought  that  I  had  the 
best  field  of  activity  open  in  Berlin,  and  could  not 
comprehend  why  I  should  seek  greater  freedom  of 
person  and  of  action.  Little  really  is  known  in 
Berlin  about  America,  and  to  go  there  is  consi- 
dered as  great  an  undertaking  as  to  seek  the  river 
Styx  in  order  to  go  to  Hades.  The  remark  that  I 
heard  from  almost  every  quarter  was,  "  What !  you 
wiph  to  go  to  the  land  of  barbarism,  where  they  have 
negro  slavery,  and  where  they  do  not  know  how  to 
appreciate  talent  and  genius  ?  "  But  this  could  not 
prevent  me  from  realizing  my  plans.  I  had  ideal- 
ized the  freedom  of  America,  and  especially  the 
reform  of  the  position  of  women,  to  such  an  extent, 
that  I  would  not  listen  to  their  arguments.  After 

talent  as  a  practitioner,  but  also  «s  a  teacher;  and  enjoys  the 
advantage  of  a  moral  and  irreproachable  private  character. 
She  has  attained  this  high  rank  over  many  female  competitors 
in  the  same  branch ;  there  being  more  than  fifty  t  in  the  city  of 
Berlin  who  threaten,  by  their  acknowledged  excellence,  to  mo- 
nopolize the  obstetric  art.  "  THEO.  S.  FAT. 
"  LSGATIOX  UNITED  STATES,  BE&UX,  Jan.  26, 1853." 
[SEAL.] 

t  "  Upon  Inquiry,  I  find  that.  Instead  of  fifty,  there  are  one  hundred 
and  ten  fcuiaie  accuuckcturn  in  Berlin.  "  Tueo.  S.  FAT." 


"WOMAN'S  EIGHT  TO  LABOR."  91 

having  been  several  years  in  America,  very  pro- 
bably I  would  think  twice  before  undertaking  again 
to  emigrate ;  for  even  the  idealized  freedom  has 
lost  a  great  deal  of  its  charm,  when  I  consider  how 
much  better  it  could  be. 

Having  put  every  thing  in  order,  I  told  my  father 
of  my  conclusion  to  leave.  He  was  surprised  to 
hear  of  it  the  second  time :  but  I  showed  him  my 
papers  in  readiness  for  the  journey,  and  declared 
that  I  should  go  as  soon  as  the  ship  was  ready  to  sail  ; 
having  a  hundred  dollars, — just  money  enough  to 
pay  my  passage.  He  would  not  give  his  consent, 
unless  my  sister  Anna  accompanied  me ;  thinking 
her,  I  suppose,  a  counterpoise  to  any  rash  under- 
takings in  which  I  might  engage  in  a  foreign  land. 
If  I  wished  to  go,  I  was,  therefore,  forced  to  have 
her  company ;  of  which  I  should  have  been  very 
glad,  had  I  not  feared  the  moral  care  and  respon- 
sibility. We  decided  to  go  in  a  fortnight.  My 
father  paid  her  passage,  and  gave  her  a  hundred 
dollars  in  cash, — just  enough  to  enable  us  to  spend 
a  short  time  in  New  York  :  after  which  he  expected 
either  to  send  us  more  money,  or  that  we  would 
return  ;  and,  in  case  we  did  this,  an  agreement  was 
made  with  the  shipping-merchant  that  payment 
should  be  made  on  our  arrival  in  Hamburg. 


92  A  PRACTICAL  ILLUSTRATION  OF 

On  the  13th  of  March,  1853,  we  left  the  paternal 
roof,  to  which  we  should  never  return.  My  mo- 
ther bade  us  adieu  with  tears  in  her  eyes  ;  saying, 
"Au  revoir  in  America ! "  She  was  determined  to 
follow  us. 

Dear  Mary,  here  ends  my  Berlin  and  European 
life  ;  and  I  can  assure  you  that  this  was  the  hard- 
est moment  I  ever  knew.  Upon  my  memory  is 
for  ever  imprinted  the  street,  the  house,  the  win- 
dow behind  which  my  mother  stood  waving  her 
handkerchief.  Not  a  tear  did  I  suffer  to  mount 
to  my  eyes,  in  order  to  make  her  believe  that  the 
departure  was  an  easy  one ;  but  a  heart  beating 
convulsively  within  punished  me  for  the  restraint. 
.  My  father  and  brothers  accompanied  us  to  the 
depot,  where  the  cars  received  us  for  Hamburg. 
On  our  arrival  there,  we  found  that  the  ice  had 
not  left  the  Elbe,  and  that  the  ships  could  not  sail 
until  the  river  was  entirely  free.  We  were  forced 
to  remain  three  weeks  in  Hamburg.  We  had 
taken  staterooms  in  the  clipper  ship  "  Deutschland." 
Besides  ourselves,  there  were  sixteen  passengers  in 
the  first  cabin ;  people  good  enough  in  their  way, 
but  not  sufficiently  attractive  to  induce  us  to  make 
their  acquaintance.  We  observed  a  dead  silence 
as  to  who  we  were,  where  we  were  going,  or  what 


"WOMAN'S  EIGHT  TO  LABOR."  93 

was  the  motive  of  our  emigrating  to  America. 
The  only  person  that  we  ever  spoke  to  was  a  Mr. 
R.  from  Hamburg,  a  youth  of  nineteen,  who,  like 
ourselves,  had  left  a  happy  home  in  order  to  try 
his  strength  in  a  strange  land.  The  voyage  was 
of  forty-seven  days'  duration ;  excessively  stormy, 
but  otherwise  very  dull,  like  all  voyages  of  this 
kind ;  and,  had  it  not  been  for  the  expectations 
that  filled  our  hearts,  we  should  have  died  of 
ennui.  As  it  was,  the  days  passed  slowly,  made 
worse  by  the  inevitable  sea-sickness  of  our  fellow- 
passengers  ;  and  we  longed  for  the  hour  that  should 
bring  us  in  sight  of  the  shores  of  the  New  "World. 
And  now  commences  my  life  in  America. 

"  Dear  Marie,  best  Marie  !  make  haste  to  come 
upon  deck  to  see  America  !  Oh,  how  pleasant  it  is 
to  see  the  green  trees  again  !  How  brightly  the  sun 
is  gilding  the  land  you  are  seeking,  —  the  land  of 
freedom!"  With  such  childlike  exclamations 
of  delight,  my  sister  Anna  burst  into  my  cabin  to 
hasten  my  appearance  on  deck  on  the  morning 
of  the  22d  of  May,  1853.  The  beautiful  child  of 
nineteen  summers  was  only  conscious  of  a  heart 
overflowing  with  pleasure  at  the  sight  of  the  charm- 
ing landscape  that  opened  before  her  eyes  after  a 
tedious  voyage  of  forty-seven  days  upon  the  ocean. 


94  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

We  had  reached  the  quarantine  at  Staten  Island. 
The  captain,  the  old  pilot,  every  one,  gazed  at  her  as 
she  danced  joyously  about  the  deck,  with  a  mingled 
feeling  of  sadness  and  curiosity ;  for  our  reserve 
while  on  shipboard  had  surrounded  us  with  a  sort 
of  mystery  which  none  knew  how  to  unravel. 

As  soon  as  I  had  dressed  for  going  on  shore,  and 
had  packed  up  the  things  that  we  had  used  on  our 
voyage,  in  order  that  they  might  not  be  stolen 
during  this  time  of  excitement,  I  obeyed  the  last 
call  of  my  impatient  sister  to  come  at  least  to  see 
the  last  rays  of  sunrise  ;  and  went  on  deck,  where 
I  was  at  once  riveted  by  the  beautiful  scene  that 
was  spread  before  my  eyes.  The  green,  sloping 
lawns,  with  which  the  white  cottages  formed  such 
a  cheerful  contrast ;  the  trees,  clad  in  their  first 
foliage,  and  suggesting  hope  by  their  smiling  blos- 
soms ,'  the  placid  cows,  feeding  quietly  in  the  fields  ; 
the  domestic  chickens,  just  visible  in"  the  distance  ; 
and  the  friendly  barking  of  a  dog,  —  all  seemed  to 
greet  me  with  a  first  welcome  to  the  shores  of  this 
strange  country:  while  the  sun,  shining  brightly 
from  a  slightly  clouded  sky,  mellowed  the  whole 
landscape,  and  so  deeply  impressed  my  soul,  that 
tears  sprang  to  my  eyes,  and  a  feeling  rose  in  my 
heart  that  I  can  call  nothing  else  than  devotional ; 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  95 

for  it  bowed  my  knees  beneath  me,  and  forced 
sounds  from  my  lips  that  I  could  not  translate  into 
words,  for  they  were  mysterious  to  myself.  A 
stranger  in  a  strange,  wide  land,  not  knowing  its 
habits  and  customs,  not  understanding  its  people, 
not  yet  understanding  its  workings  and  aims,  my 
mind  was  not  clouded  with  loneliness.  I  was  hap- 
py. Had  it  not  been  my  own  wish  that  had  made 
me  leave  the  home  of  a  kind  father,  and  of  a 
mother  beloved  beyond  all  earthly  beings  ?  I  had 
succeeded  in  safely  reaching  the  shores  of  Ameri- 
ca. Life  was  again  open  before  me.  With  these 
thoughts,  I  turned  from  the  beautiful  landscape ; 
and  finding  the  captain,  a  noble-hearted  sailor,  in- 
quired of  him  how  long  it  would  take  us  to  reach 
the  port  of  New  York.  "That  is  New  York," 
said  he,  pointing  to  a  dark  mass  of  buildings,  with 
here  and  there  a  spire  towering  in  the  air.  "  We 
shall  reach  there  about  eight  o'clock ;  but  it  is 
Sunday,  and  you  will  have  to  stay  on  board  till 
to-morrow."  With  this  he  turned  away,  calling 
his  men  to  weigh  anchor ;  as  the  physician,  whose 
duty  it  was  to  inspect  the  cargo  of  men,  like  cattle, 
had  just  left  in  his  boat.  On  we  went,  my  sister 
still  dancing  and  singing  for  joy ;  and  Mr.  R.  and 
myself  sitting  somewhat  apart,  —  he  looking  de- 


96  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

spondently  into  the  water,  I  with  my  head  firmly 
raised  in  the  air,  happy  in  heart,  but  thoughtful  in 
mind,  and  trusting  in  my  inward  strength  for  the 
future. 

I  took  my  breakfast  on  deck.  No  one  seemed 
to  have  any  appetite  ;  and  I  felt  somewhat  reproved 
when  I  heard  some  one  near  me  say,  "  She  seems 
to  have  neither  head  nor  heart :  see  how  tranquilly 
she  can  eat  at  such  a  time  as  this  !  "  These  words 
were  spoken  by  one  of  the  cabin-passengers,  —  a 
young  man,  who  was  exceedingly  curious  to  know 
why  I  was  going  to  America,  and  had  several 
times  tried  to  make  the  rest  of  the  passengers  be- 
lieve that  it  must  be  in  consequence  of  an  unhappy 
love.  The  poor  simpleton !  he  thought  that  wo- 
men could  only  enter  into  life  through  the  tragedy 
of  a  broken  heart. 

A  bell  sounded.  We  were  opposite  Trinity  Church, 
which  had  just  struck  eight.  On  my  right  lay  an 
enormous  collection  of  bricks  (houses  I  could  not 
call  them  ;  for,  seen  from  the  ship,  they  resembled 
only  a  pile  of  ruins)  ;  on  my  left,  the  romantic  shore 
of  New  Jersey.  But  the  admiration  with  which  I 
had  gazed  upon  Staten  Island  was  gone  as  I  stood 
before  this  beautiful  scene  ;  the  appreciation  of 
Nature  was  mastered  by  another  feeling,  —  a  feeling 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  97 

of  activity  that  had  become  my  ideal.  I  had  come 
here  for  a  purpose,  —  to  carry  out  the  plan  which 
a  despotic  government  and  its  servile  agents  had 
prevented  me  from  doing  in  my  native  city.  I  had 
to  show  to  those  men  who  had  opposed  me  so 
strongly  because  I  was  a  woman,  that  in  this  land  of 
liberty,  equality,  and  fraternity,  I  could  maintain 
that  position  which  they  would  not  permit  to  me  at 
home.  My  talents  were  in  an  unusual  direction.  I 
was  a  physician ;  and,  as  such,  had  for  years  moved 
in  the  most  select  circles  of  Berlin.  Even  my  ene- 
mies had  been  forced  to  give  me  the  highest  testi- 
monials :  and  these  were  the  only  treasure  that  I 
brought  to  this  country ;  for  I  had  given  my  last 
dollar  to  the  sailor  who  brought  me  the  first  news 
that  land  was  in  sight. 

I  looked  again  upon  New  York,  but  with  a  feel- 
ing that  a  great  mystery  was  lying  before  my 
eyes,  —  a  feeling  that  was  confirmed  by  the  men, 
who  came  off  to  the  ship  in  small  boats,  speaking 
a  language  that  seemed  like  a  chaos  of  sounds. 
As  I  turned,  I  saw  my  sister  coming  slowly  up  from 
the  cabin  with  a  changed  air  ;  and  I  asked  her  with 
surprise  what  was  the  matter.  "O  Marie  !  "  said 
she,  "  most  of  the  passengers  are  called  for.  Mr. 
R.'s  brother  has  just  come  to  take  him  on  shore. 
7 


98  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

He  was  so  glad  to  see  him  (for  he  thought  he  was 
in  New  Orleans),  that  I  think  he  will  forget  to 
say  good-by.  I  am  afraid  that  we  shall  have  to 

stay  here  all  alone,  and  " "  Are  the  Misses  • 

Zakrzewska  on  board  ?  "  called  a  voice  from  a  little 
boat  by  the  side  of  the  ship.  We  looked  down  in 
surprise,  but  did  not  recognize  the  man,  who  spoke 
as  if  he  were  an  acquaintance.  The  captain  an- 
swered, "  Yes."  Upon  which  the  same  voice  said, 
"  Mr.  G.  requests  them  to  wait :  he  will  be  here 
in  a  moment." 

This  announcement  surprised  us  the  more  that 
it  came  from  a  totally  unexpected  quarter.  An 
acquaintance  of  ours,  who  had  emigrated  to  New 
York  a  few  years  before,  and  had  shortly  after 
married  a  Mr.  G.,  had  heard  from  her  brother  in 
Berlin  of  our  departure  for  America  in  the  ship 
"  Deutschland ;  "  and  these  good  people,  thinking 
that  they  could  be  of  use  to  us  in  a  new  country, 
had  been  watching  for  its  arrival.  No  one  on 
board  dared  ask  a  question  as  to  who  our  friends 
were,  so  reserved  had  we  been  in  regard  to  our 
plans :  only  the  young  man  who  had  accused  me 
of  having  neither  head  nor  heart  said,  half  aside, 
"  Ah,  ha !  now  we  know  the  reason  "rhy  Miss 
Marie  ate  her  breakfast  so  calmly,  while  her  sister 


"WOMAN'S  EIGHT  TO  LABOR."  99 

danced  for  joy.  They  had  beaux  who  were  ex- 
pecting them."  "Simpleton!"  thought  I:  "must 
women  always  have  beaux  in  order  to  be  calm  about 
the  future?" 

Mr.  G.  came  on  board  in  a  few  minutes,  bring- 
ing us  from  his  wife  an  invitation  of  welcome  to 
her  house.  I  cannot  express  in  words  the  emotion 
awakened  in  my  heart  by  the  really  unselfish  kind- 
ness that  had  impelled  these  people  to  greet  us  in 
this  manner ;  and  this  was  increased  when  we 
reached  their  very  modest  dwelling,  consisting  of 
a  large  shop  in  which  Mr.  G.  carried  on  his 
business  of  manufacturing  fringes  and  tassels,  one 
sitting-room,  a  bedroom,  and  a  small  kitchen.  My 
strength  left  me,  and  my  composure  dissolved  in  a 
flood  of  tears.  The  good  people  did  all  that  they 
could  to  make  us  feel  at  home,  and  insisted  that 
we  should  occupy  the  sitting-room  until  we  had 
decided  what  further  to  do.  Of  course,  I  deter- 
mined that  this  should  be  for  as  short  a  time  as 
possible,  and  that  we  would  immediately  look  out 
for  other  lodgings. 

One-half  of  this  first  day  was  spent  in  talking 
about  home  ;  the  other,  in  making  an  excursion  to 
Hoboken.  This  visit  we  would  gladly  have  dis- 
pensed with,  so  exhausted  were  we  by  the  excite- 


100  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

ment  that  we  had  passed  through  since  sunrise ; 
but  our  friends  were  bent  on  entertaining  us  with 
stories  and  sights  of  the  New  World,  and  we  fol- 
lowed them  rather  reluctantly.  I  have  since  been 
glad  that  I  did  so ;  for  my  mind  was  in  a  state  that 
rendered  it  far  more  impressible  than  usual,  and 
therefore  better  fitted  to  observe  much  that  would 
have  been  lost  to  me  in  a  less-excited  condition. 
Here  I  first  saw  the  type  of  common  German  life  on 
Sunday  in  America ;  and  I  saw  enough  of  it  on  that 
one  Sunday  afternoon  to  last  a  whole  lifetime.  My 
friends  called  on  several  of  their  acquaintances. 
Everywhere  that  we  went,  I  noticed  two  peculiari- 
ties,—  comparative  poverty  in  the  surroundings, 
and  apparent  extravagance  in  the  manner  of  living : 
for  in  every  house  we  found  an  abundance  of  wine, 
beer,  cake,  meat,  salad,  &c.,  although  it  was  be- 
tween the  hours  of  meals  ;  and  every  one  was 
eating,  although  no  one  seemed  hungry.  At  nine 
o'clock  in  the  evening,  the  visit  was  concluded  by 
going  to  a  hotel,  where  a  rich  supper  was  served 
up  to  us  ;  and  at  eleven  at  night  we  returned  home. 
My  work  in  America  had  already  commenced. 
"Was  it  not  necessary  for  a  stranger  in  a  new  coun- 
try to  observe  life  in  all  its  phases,  before  entering 
upon  it  ?  It  seemed  so  to  me  ;  and  I  had  already 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  I,ABOR."  101 

planned,  while  on  ship-board,  to  spend  the  first 
month  in  observations  of  this  kind.  I  had  made  a 
fair  beginning ;  and,  when  I  saw  many  repetitions 
of  this  kind  of  life  among  my  countrymen,  I  feared 
that  this  was  their  main  purpose  in  this  country, 
and  their  consolation  for  the  loss  of  the  entertain- 
ments and  recreations  which  their  fatherland  of- 
fered to  them.  But,  as  soon  as  I  got  opportunity 
to  make  my  observations  among  the  educated  class- 
es, I  found  my  fear  ungrounded ;  and  I  also  found 
that  the  Americans  had  noticed  the  impulse  for 
progress  and  higher  development  which  animated 
these  Germans.  The  German  mind,  so  much 
honored  in  Europe  for  its  scientific  capacity,  for 
its  consistency  regarding  principles,  and  its  correct 
criticism,  is  not  dead  here  :  but  it  has  to  struggle 
against  difficulties  too  numerous  to  be  detailed 
here  ;  and  therefore  it  is  that  the  Americans  don't 
know  of  its  existence,  and  the  chief  obstacle  is 
their  different  languages.  A  Humboldt  must  re- 
main unknown  here,  unless  he  chooses  to  Ameri- 
canize himself  in  every  respect ;  and  could  he  do 
this  without  ceasing  to  be  Humboldt  the  cosmo- 
politan genius  ? 

It  would  be  a  great  benefit  to  the  development 
of  this  country  if  the  German  language  was  made 


102  A  PRACTICAL  ILLUSTRATION  OF 

a  branch  of  education,  and  not  an  accomplish- 
ment simply.  Only  then  would  the  Americans 
appreciate  how  much  has  been  done  by  the  Ger- 
mans to  advance  higher  development,  and  to  diffuse 
the  true  principles  of  freedom.  It  would  serve 
both  parties  to  learn  how  much  the  Germans  aid  in 
developing  the  reason,  and  supporting  progress 
in  every  direction.  The  revolution  of  1848  has 
been  more  serviceable  to  America  than  to  Germa- 
ny ;  for  it  has  caused  the  emigration  of  thousands 
of  men  who  would  have  been  the  pride  of  a  free 
Germany.  America  has  received  the  German 
freemen,  whilst  Germany  has  retained  the  sub- 
jects. 

The  next  morning,  I  determined  to  return  to  the 
ship  to  look  after  my  baggage.  As  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
G.  were  busy  in  their  shop,  there  was  no  one  to 
accompany  me  :  I  therefore  had  either  to  wait  un- 
til they  were  at  leisure,  or  to  go  alone.  I  chose  the 
latter,  and  took  my  first  walk  in  the  city  of  New 
York  on  my  way  to  the  North  River,  where  the 
ship  was  lying.  The  noise  and  bustle  everywhere 
about  me  absorbed  my  attention  to  such  a  degree, 
that,  instead  of  turning  to  the  right  hand,  I  went 
to  the  left,  and  found  myself  at  the  East  River,  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Peck  Slip.  Here  I  inquired 


"WOMAN'S   EIGHT   TO   LABOR."  103 

after  the  German  ship  "  Deutschland,"  and  was 
directed,  in  my  native  tongue,  down  to  the  Battery, 
and  thence  up  to  Pier  13,  where  I  found  the  ship 
discharging  the  rest  of  her  passengers  and  their 
baggage.  It  was  eleven  o'clock  when  I  reached 
the  ship:  I  had,  therefore,  taken  a  three-hours' 
walk.  I  had  now  to  wait  until  the  custom-house 
officer  had  inspected  my  trunks,  and  afterwards 
for  the  arrival  of  Mr.  G.,  who  came  at  one  o'clock 
with  a  cart  to  convey  the  baggage  to  his  house. 
While  standing  amidst  the  crowd,  a  man  in  a  light 
suit  of  clothes  of 'no  positive  color,  with  a  com- 
plexion of  the  same  sort,  came  up  to  me,  and  asked, 
in  German,  whether  I  had  yet  found  a  boarding- 
place.  The  man's  smooth  face  instinctively  repelled 
me ;  yet  the  feeling  that  I  was  not  independently 
established  made  me  somewhat  indefinite  in  my 
reply.  On  seeing  this,  he  at  once  grew  talkative 
and  friendly,  and,  speaking  of  the  necessity  of  find- 
ing a  safe  and  comfortable  home,  said  that  he  could 
recommend  me  to  a  hotel  where  I  would  be  treated 
honestly;  or  that,  if  I  chose  to  be  in  a  private 
family,  he  knew  of  a  very  kind,  motherly  lady,  who 
kept  a  boarding-house  for  ladies  alone,  —  not  to 
make  money,  but  for  the  sake  of  her  country- 
women. The  familiarity  that  he  mingled  in  his 


104  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

conversation  while  trying  to  be  friendly  made  me 
thoroughly  indignant :  I  turned  my  back  upon  him, 
Buying  that  I  did  not  need  his  services.  It  was  not 
long  before  I  saw  him  besieging  my  sister  Anna, 
who  had  come  with  Mr.  G. ;  being  nervous  lest  I 
might  not  have  found  the  ship.  What  he  said  to 
her,  I  do  not  know.  I  only  remember  that  she 
came  to  me,  saying,  "  I  am  afraid  of  that  man  :  I 
wish  that  we  could  go  home  soon."  This  meeting 
with  a  man  who  makes  friendly  offers  of  service 
may  seem  a  small  matter  to  the  mere  looker-on  ;  but 
it  ceases  to  be  so  when  one  knows  his  motives :  and, 
since  that  time,  I  have  had  but  too  many  opportu- 
nities to  see  for  what  end  these  offers  are  made. 
Many  an  educated  girl  comes  from  the  Old  World 
to  find  a  position  as  governess  or  teacher,  who  is 
taken  up  in  this  manner,  and  is  never  heard  from 
again,  or  is  only  found  in  the  most  wretched  con- 
dition. It  is  shameful  that  the  most  effective 
arrangements  should  not  be  made  for  the  safety  of 
these  helpless  beings,  who  come  to  these  shores  with 
the  hope  of  finding  a  Canaan. 

The  week  was  mostly  spent  in  looking  for  apart- 
ments ;  as  we  had  concluded  to  commence  house- 
keeping on  a  small  scale,  in  order  to  be  more 
independent  and  to  save  money.  On  our  arrival, 


"WOMAN'S  EIGHT  TO  LABOR."  105 

I  had  borrowed  from  my  sister  the  hundred  dollars 
which  my  father  had  given  her  on  our  departure 
from  Berlin,  and  which  Avas  to  be  my  capital  until 
I  had  established  myself  in  business.  I  succeeded 
in  finding  a  suite  of  rooms,  with  windows  facing 
the  street,  in  the  house  of  a  grocer ;  and,  having 
put  them  in  perfect  order,  we  moved  into  them  on 
the  6th  of  June,  paying  eleven  dollars  as  our  rent 
for  two  months  in  advance. 

My  sister  took  charge  of  our  first  day's  house- 
keeping, while  I  went  to  deliver  my  letters  of 
introduction.  I  went  first  to  Dr.  Reisig,  in  Four- 
teenth Street.  My  mother,  who  had  employed 
him  when  he  was  a  young  man  and  we  were  small 
children,  had  spoken  of  him  kindly ;  and,  for  this 
reason,  I  had  confidence  in  him.  I  found  him  a 
very  friendly  man,  but  by  no  means  a  cordial  one. 
He  informed  me  that  female  physicians  in  this 
country  were  of  the  lowest  rank,  and  that  they  did 
not  hold  even  the  position  of  a  good  nurse.  He 
said  that  he  wished  to  be  of  service  to  me  if  I  were 
willing  to  serve  as  nurse  ;  and,  as  he  was  just  then 
in  need  of  a  good  one,  would  recommend  me  for 
the  position.  I  thanked  him  for  his  candor  and 
kindness,  but  refused  his  ofier,  as  I  could  not  con- 
descend to  be  patronized  in  this  way.  Depressed 


106  A  PRACTICAL  ILLUSTRATION   OP 

in  hope,  but  strengthened  in  will,  I  did  not  deliver 
any  more  of  my  letters,  since  they  were  all  to 
physicians,  and  I  could  not  hope  to  be  more  suc- 
cessful in  other  quarters.  I  went  home,  therefore, 
determined  to  commence  practice  as  a  stranger. 

The  result  of  my  experiment  discouraged  my 
sister  greatly.  After  meditating  for  some  time, 
she  suddenly  said,  "  Marie,  I  read  in  the  paper 
this  morning  of  a  dressmaker  who  Avanted  some 
one  to  sew  for  her.  I  know  how  to  sew  well :  I 
shall  go  there,  and  you  can  attend  to  our  little 
household.  No  one  here  knows  me,  and  I  do  not 
think  there  is  any  thing  wrong  in  my  trying  to  earn 
some  money." 

She  was  determined,  and  went.  I  put  up  my 
sign,  and  spent  my  time  in  attending  to  the  house- 
hold duties,  and  in  reading  in  order  to  gain  in- 
formation of  the  country  and  the  people.  Occa- 
sionally I  took  walks  through  different  parts  of  the 
city,  to  learn,  from  the  houses  and  their  surround- 
ings, the  character  of  life  in  New  York.  I  am 
sure  that  though,  perhaps,  I  appeared  idle,  I  was 
not  so  in  reality ;  for  during  this  time  I  learned  the 
philosophy  of  American  life. 

But  our  stock  of  money  was  becoming  less  and  less. 
To  furnish  the  rooms  had  cost  us  comparatively 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  107 

little,  as  we  had  brought  a  complete  set  of  house- 
hold furniture  with  us ;  but  paying  the  rent  and 
completing  the  arrangements  had  not  left  us  more 
than  enough  to  live  upon,  in  the  most  economical 
manner,  until  the  1st  of  August.  My  sister  ob- 
tained the  place  at  the  dressmaker's ;  and  after 
working  a  week  from  seven  in  the  morning  until 
twelve  (when  she  came  home  to  dinner) ,  then  from 
one  in  the  afternoon  until  seven  in  the  evening,  she 
received  two  dollars  and  seventy-five  cents  as  the 
best  sewer  of  six.  She  brought  home  the  hardly 
earned  money  with  tears  in  her  eyes  ;  for  she  had 
expected  at  least  three  dollars  for  the  week's  work. 
She  had  made  each  day  a  whole  muslin  dress,  with 
the  trimmings.  And  this  was  not  all :  the  dress- 
maker often  did  not  pay  on  Saturday  nights, 
because,  as  she  said,  people  did  not  pay  her  punc- 
tually ;  and  the  poor  girls  received  their  wages  by 
six  or  eight  shillings  at  a  time.  For  the  last  two 
weeks  of  my  sister's  work,  she  received  her  pay- 
ment seven  weeks  after  she  had  left. 

We  lived  in  this  manner  until  the  middle  of  July, 
when  I  lost  patience  ;  for  practice  did  not  come  as 
readily  as  I  wished,  nor  was  I  in  a  position  for 
making  money  in  any  other  way.  My  sister, 
usually  so  cheerful  and  happy,  grew  grave  from 


108  A   PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

the  unusual  work  and  close  confinement.  One  of 
these  nights,  on  lying  down  to  sleep,  she  burst  into 
tears,  and  told  me  of  her  doubts  and  fears  for  the 
future.  I  soothed  her  as  well  as  I  could,  and  she 
fell  asleep.  For  myself,  I  could  not  sleep,  but  lay 
awake  all  night  meditating  what  I  could  possibly 
do.  Should  I  write  home,  requesting  help  from 
my  father?  He  certainly  would  have  given  it; 
for  we  had  received  a  letter  two  weeks  before, 
offering  us  all  desirable  aid.  No  :  all  my  pride 
rebelled  against  it.  "  I  must  help  myself,"  I 
thought,  "  and  that  to-morrow." 

The  next  morning,  my  sister  left  me  as  usual. 
I  went  out,  and  walked  through  the  city  to  Broad- 
way; turning  into  Canal  Street,  where  I  had 
formed  an  acquaintance  with  a  very  friendly  Ger- 
man woman  by  purchasing  little  articles  at  various 
times  at  her  store.  I  entered  without  any  particular 
design,  and  exchanged  a  few  commonplaces  with 
her  about  the  weather.  Her  husband  stood  talking 
with  a  man  about  worsted  goods,  and  their  conver- 
sation caught  my  ear.  The  merchant  was  com- 
plaining because  the  manufacturer  did  not  supply 
him  fast  enough :  upon  which  the  man  answered, 
that  it  was  very  difficult  to  get  good  hands  to  work ; 
and  that,  besides,  he  had  more  orders  than  it  was 


"WOMAN'S  EIGHT  TO  LABOR."  109 

possible  to  fill ;  naming  several  merchants  whose 
names  I  had  seen  in  Broadway,  who  were  also 
complaining  because  he  did  not  supply  them. 
After  he  had  left,  I  asked  carelessly  what  kind  of 
articles  were  in  demand,  and  was  shown  a  great 
variety  of  worsted  fancy-goods.  A  thought  entered 
my  brain.  I  left  the  store,  and,  walking  down 
Broadway,  asked  at  one  of  the  stores  that  had 
been  mentioned  for  a  certain  article  of  worsted 
goods,  in  order  to  learn  the  price.  Finding  this 
enormous,  I  did  not  buy  it ;  and  returned  home, 
calculating  on  my  way  how  much  it  would  cost  to 
manufacture  these  articles,  and  how  much  profit 
could  be  made  in  making  them  on  a  large  scale. 
I  found  that  two  hundred  per  cent  profit  might  be 
made  by  going  to  work  in  the  right  way.  My 
sister  came  home,  as  usual,  to  dinner.  I  sat  down 
with  her,  but  could  not  eat.  She  looked  at  me 
anxiously,  and  said,  "  I  hope  you  are  not  sick 
again.  Oh,  dear !  what  shall  we  do  if  you  get 
sick  ?  "  I  had  been  ill  for  a  week,  and  she  feared  a 
relapse.  I  said  nothing  of  my  plan,  but  consoled 
her  in  respect  to  my  health. 

As  soon  as  she  had  left,  I  counted  my  money. 
But  five  dollars  remained.  If  I  had  been  depend- 
ent upon  money  for  cheerfulness,  I  should  certainly 


110  A   PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

have  been  discouraged.  I  went  to  John  Street, 
and,  entering  a  large  worsted  store,  inquired  of  a 
cheerful-looking  girl  the  wholesale  price  of  the 
best  Berlin  wool ;  how  many  colors  could  be  had  in 
a  pound;  &c.  The  pleasant  and  ready  answers 
that  I  received  in  my  native  tongue  induced  me  to 
tell  her  frankly  that  I  wanted  but  a  small  quantity 
at  that  time,  but  that  I  intended  to  make  an  experi- 
ment in  manufacturing  worsted  articles ;  and,  if 
successful,  would  like  to  open  a  small  credit,  which 
she  said  they  generally  would  do  when  security 
was  given. 

I  purchased  four  and  a  half  dollars'  worth  of 
worsted ;  so  that  fifty  cents  were  left  in  my  pocket 
when  I  quitted  the  store.  I  then  went  to  the  office 
of  a  German  newspaper,  where  I  paid  twenty-five 
cents  for  advertising  for  girls  who  understood  all 
kinds  of  knitting.  "When  my  sister  came  home  at 
night,  the  worsted  was  all  sorted  on  the  table  in 
parcels  for  the  girls  who  would  come  the  next 
morning,  while  I  was  busily  engaged  in  the  experi- 
ment of  making  little  worsted  tassels.  I  had  never 
been  skilful  in  knitting  ;  but  in  this  I  succeeded  so 
well,  that  I  could  have  made  a  hundred  yards  of 
tassels  in  one  day.  My  sister  turned  pale  on  seeing 
all  this  ;  and  hurriedly  asked,  "  How  much  money 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  Ill 

have  you  spent  ?  "  —  "All,  my  dear  Anna,"  an- 
swered I ;  "  all,  except  twenty-five  cents,  which  will 
be  sufficient  to  buy  a  pound  of  beefsteak  and  pota- 
toes for  to-morrow's  dinner.  Bread,  tea,  and  sugar 
we  have  still  in  the  house ;  and  to-morrow  night 
you  will  bring  home  your  twenty-two  shillings." 
"  May  you  succeed,  Marie !  that  is  all  I  have  to 
say,"  was  her  reply.  She  learned  of  me  that  even- 
ing how  to  make  the  tassels  ;  and  we  worked  till 
midnight,  finishing  a  large  number. 

The  next  day  was  Saturday,  and  some  women 
really  came  to  get  work.  I  gave  them  just  enough 
for  one  day,  keeping  one  day's  work  in  reserve. 
The  day  was  spent  busily  in  arranging  matters,  so 
that,  on  Monday  morning,  I  might  be  able  to  carry 
a  sample  of  the  manufactured  articles  to  those 
stores  that  I  had  heard  mentioned  as  not  being 
sufficiently  supplied. 

In  the  evening,  my  sister  came  home  without 
her  money :  the  dressmaker  had  gone  into  the 
country  in  the  afternoon,  without  paying  the  girls. 
She  was  more  than  sad,  and  I  felt  a  little  uncom- 
fortable ;  for  what  was  I  to  do,  without  money  to 
provide  for  the  next  two  days,  or  to  pay  those  girls 
on  Monday  with  whose  work  I  might  not  be  satis- 
fied ?  What  was  to  be  done  ?  To  go  down  to  our 


112  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OP 

landlord,  the  grocer,  and  ask  him  to  advance  us  a 
few  dollars  ?  No  :  he  was  a  stranger,  and  had  no 
means  of  knowing  that  we  would  return  the  money. 
Besides,  I  did  not  wish  the  people  in  the  house  to 
knoAv  our  condition. 

My  resolution  was  taken.  I  proposed  to  my 
sister  to  go  to  the  market  with  me  to  buy  meat 
and  fruit  for  the  morrow.  She  looked  at  me  with 
blank  astonishment ;  but,  without  heeding  it,  I  said 
calmly,  taking  from  the  bureau-drawer  the  chain 
of  my  watch,  "  Anna,  opposite  the  market,  there 
is  a  pawnbroker.  No  one  knows  us  ;  and,  by  giving 
a  fictitious  name,  we  can  get  money,  without  thank- 
ing any  one  for  it."  She  was  satisfied ;  and,  taking 
a  little  basket,  we  went  on  our  errand.  I  asked  of 
the  pawnbroker  six  dollars,  under  the  name  of  Miil- 
ler,  and  received  the  money  ;  after  which  we  made 
our  purchases,  and  went  home  in  quite  good 
spirits. 

On  Monday  morning,  the  knitters  brought  home 
their  work.  I  paid  them,  and  gave  them  enough 
for  another  day  ;  after  which  I  set  about  finishing 
each  piece,  completing  the  task  about  two  in  the 
afternoon.  This  done,  I  carried  the  articles  to 
Broadway  ;  and,  leaving  a  sample  in  a  number 
of  stores,  received  orders  from  them  for  several 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  113 

dozens.*  I  then  went  to  the  worsted  store  in 
John  Street,  where  I  also  obtained  orders  for  the 
manufactured  articles,  together  with  ten  dollars' 
worth  of  worsted  on  credit ;  having  first  given  my 
name  and  residence  to  the  book-keeper,  with  the 
names  of  the  stores  from  which  I  had  received  or- 
ders. In  the  evening,  when  my  sister  came  home, 
I  was,  therefore,  safely  launched  into  a  manufactur- 
ing business.  The  news  cheered  her  greatly ;  but 
she  could  not  be  induced  to  quit  her  sewing.  The 
new  business  had  sprung  up  so  rapidly  and  plea- 
santly, that  she  could  not  trust  in  the  reality  of  its 
existence. 

I  must  tell  you  here  something  of  the  social  life 
that  we  led.  "We  had  brought  a  number  of  friendly 
letters  with  us  from  our  acquaintances  in  Berlin  to 
their  friends  and  relatives  in  America ;  all  of  which, 
upon  our  arrival,  we  sent  by  post,  with  the  exception 
of  two,  —  the  one  sent  by  a  neighbor  to  his  son, 
Albert  C. ;  the  other  to  a  young  artist ;  both  of 
whom  called  for  their  letters.  About  four  weeks 


*  Here  I  have  to  remark,  that,  not  being  able  to  speak  English, 
I  conducted  my  business  at  the  different  stores  either  in  German 
or  French,  as  I  easily  found  some  of  the  employees  who  scould 
speak  one  of  these  languages. 

8 


114  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OP 

after  we  .were  settled  in  New  York,  we  received  a 
call  from  some  young  men  whose  sisters  had  been 
schoolmates  of  my  sisters  in  Berlin,  who  came  to 
inquire  of  us  where  to  find  Mr.  C.  We  could  give 
them  no  information,  as  we  had  not  seen  him  since 
he  called  for  his  letter ;  neither  did  we  now  see  any 
thing  of  the  G.'s  :  but  the  acquaintance  thus  formed 
with  these  young  men  was  continued,  and  our  soli- 
tude was  now  and  then  enlivened  by  an  hour's  call 
from  them.  Soon  after  I  had  commenced  my  new 
business,  they  came  one  day  in  company  with  Mr. 
C.,  whom  they  had  met  accidently  in  the  street, 
and,  on  his  expressing  a  wish  to  see  us,  had  taken 
the  liberty  to  bring  to  our  house. 

My  business  continued  to  prosper  ;  and,  by  con- 
stantly offering  none  but  the  best  quality  of  goods 
for  sale,  in  a  very  short  time  I  had  so  much  to  do, 
that  my  whole  time  in  the  day  was  occupied  with 
out-door  business,  and  I  was  forced  to  sit  up  at 
night  with  my  sister  to  prepare  work  for  the  knit- 
ters. At  one  time,  we  had  constantly  thirty  girls 
in  our  employ  ;  and  in  this  way  I  became  acquaint- 
ed with  many  of  those  unfortunates  who  had  been 
misled  and  ruined  on  their  arrival  by  persons  pre- 
tending friendship.  Two  of  these  in  particular 
interested  me  greatly.  One,  the  grand-daughter 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO   LABOR."  115 

of  Krummacher,  and  bearing  his  name,  was  the 
daughter  of  a  physician,  who  had  come  to  this 
country,  hoping  to  find  a  place  as  governess.  Poor 
girl !  she  was  a  mere  wreck  when  I  found  her,  and 
all  my  efforts  to  raise  her  up  were  in  vain.  She 
was  sick,  and  in  a  terrible  mental  condition.  We 
took  her  into  our  house,  nursed  her  and  cared  for 
her,  and,  when  she  had  recovered,  supplied  her 
with  work ;  for  which  we  paid  her  so  well,  that  she 
always  had  three  dollars  a  week,  which  paid  for 
her  board  and  washing.  It  was  twice  as  much  as 
she  could  earn,  yet  not  enough  to  make  her  feel 
reconciled  with  life.  At  one  time,  she  did  not 
come  to  us  for  a  whole  week.  I  went  to  see  her, 
and  her  landlady  told  me  that  she  was  melancholy. 
I  persuaded  her  to  come  and  stay  with  us  for  a 
few  days ;  but,  in  spite  of  all  my  friendly  encou- 
ragement, I  could  not  succeed  in  restoring  her  to 
cheerfulness.  She  owned  that  she  could  not  work 
merely  to  live :  she  did  not  feel  the  pangs  of  hun- 
ger ;  but  she  felt  the  want  of  comforts  to  which  she 
had  been  accustomed,  and  which,  in  our  days,  are 
regarded  as  necessities.  She  attempted  to  find  a 
situation  as  governess  ;  but  her  proficiency  in  music, 
French,  and  drawing,  counted  as  nothing.  She  had 
no  city  references  ;  and,  having  been  two  years  in 


116  A   PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

New  York,  dared  not  name  the  place  to  which  she 
had  been  conducted  on  her  arrival.  She  left  us  at 
last  in  despair,  after  having  been  a  week  with  us. 
She  never  called  again,  and  I  could  not  learn  from 
her  landlady  where  she  had  gone.  Three  months 
afterwards,  I  heard  from  one  of  the  girls  in  our 
employ  that  she  had  married  a  poor  shoemaker  in 
order  to  have  a  home  ;  but  I  never  learned  whether 
this  was  true.  About  a  year  later,  I  met  her  in 
the  Bowery,  poorly  but  cleanly  dressed.  She 
hastily  turned  away  her  face  on  seeing  me  ;  and  I 
only  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  crimson  flush  that 
overspread  her  countenance. 

The  other  girl  that  I  referred  to  was  a  Miss 

Mary  ,  who  came  with  her  mother  to   this 

country,  expecting  to  live  with  a  brother.  They 
found  the  brother  married,  and  unwilling  to  sup- 
port his  sister ;  while  his  wife  was  by  no  means 
friendly  in  her  reception  of  his  mother.  The  good 
girl  determined  to  earn  a  support  for  her  mother, 
and  a  pretended  friend  offered  to  take  care  of  their 
things  until  she  could  find  work  and  rent  lodgings. 
After  four  weeks'  search,  she  found  a  little  room 
and  bedroom  in  a  rear-building  in  Elizabeth  Street, 
at  five  dollars  a  month  ;  and  was  preparing  to  move, 
when  her  friend  presented  a  bill  of  forty  dollars  for 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  117 

his  services.  She  could  only  satisfy  his. rapacity 
by  selling  every  thing  that  she  could  possibly  spare : 
after  which  she  commenced  to  work ;  and  as  she 
embroidered  a  great  deal,  besides  working  for  me 
(for  which  I  paid  her  six  dollars  a  week) ,  for  a  time 
she  lived  tolerably  well.  After  some  time,  her  mo 
ther  fell  ill ;  and  she  had  to  nurse  her  and  attend  to 
the  household,  as  well  as  labor  for  their  support. 
It  was  a  trying  time  for  the  poor  girl.  She  sought 
her  brother ;  but  he  had  moved  to  the  West.  I 
did  all  that  I  could  for  her ;  but  this  was  not  half 
enough  :  and,  after  I  had  quitted  the  manufacturing 
business  and  left  the  city,  my  sister  heard  that  she 
had  drowned  herself  in  the  Hudson,  because  her 
mother's  corpse  was  lying  in  the  house,  while  she 
had  not  a  cent  to  give  it  burial,  or  to  buy  a  piece 
of  bread,  without  selling  herself  to  vice. 

Are  not  these  two  terrible  romances  of  New- 
York  life  ?  And  many  besides  did  I  learn  among 
these  poor  women ;  so  many,  indeed,  that  I  forget 
the  details  of  all.  Stories  of  this  kind  are  said  to 
be  without  foundation :  I  say  that  there  are  more 
of  them  in  our  midst  than  it  is  possible  to  imagine. 
Women  of  good  education,  but  without  money,  are 
forced  to  earn  their  living.  They  determine  to 
leave  their  home,  either  because  false  pride  pre- 


118  A   PRACTICAL   ILLCSTRATIOX  OF 

viiits  their  seeking  work  win  iv  they  luxvc  been 
brought  up  as  ladies,  or  because  this  work  is  BO 
scarce  that  they  cannot  earn  by  it  even  a  life  of 
semi-starvation ;  while  they  arc  encouraged  to  be- 
lieve that  in  this  country  they  will  readily  find 
proper  employment.  They  are  too  well  educated 
to  become  domestics ;  better  educated,  indeed, 
than  are  hulf  the  teachers  here :  but  modesty, 
and  the  habit  of  thinking  that  they  must  pass 
through  the  same  legal  ordeal  us  in  Europe,  pre- 
vent them  from  seeking  places  in  this  capacity. 
They  all  know  how  to  embroider  in  the  most  beau- 
tiful manner;  and,  knowing  that  this  is  \\.11  j.ai.l 
for  in  Europe,  seek  to  find  employment  of  this  kind 
in  the  stores.  Not  being  able  to  speak  English, 
they  Wlievc  the  stories  of  the  clerks  and  proprie- 
tors, and  are  made  to  work  at  low  wages,  and  are 
often  swindled  out  of  their  money.  They  feel  home- 
sick, forlorn  and  forsaken  in  the  world.  Their 
health  tit  length  fails  them,  and  they  cannot  earn 
1  i-nough  to  keep  themselves  from  starvation. 
They  arc  too  proud  to  beg ;  and  the  consequence  is, 
that  tiny  walk  the  streets,  or  throw  themselves  into 
the  river. 

I  met  scores  of  these  friendless  women.     Some 
I  took  into  my  house ;  for  others  I  found  work, 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  119 

and  made  myself  a  sort  of  guardian  ;  while  to 
others  I  gave  friendship  to  keep  them  morally 
alive.  It  is  a  curious  fact,  that  these  women  are 
chiefly  Germans.  The  Irish  resort  at  once  to  beg- 
gary, or  are  inveigled  into  brothels,  as  soon  as  they 
arrive ;  while  the  French  are  always  intriguing 
enough  either  to  put  on  a  white  cap  and  find  a 
place  as  bonne,  or  to  secure  a  private  lover. 

I  am  often  in  despair  about  the  helplessness  of 
women,  and  the  readiness  of  men  to  let  them  earn 
money  in  abundance  by  shame,  while  they  grind 
them  down  to  the  merest  pittance  for  honorable 
work.  Shame  on  society,  that  women  are  forced 
to  surrender  themselves  to  an  abandoned  life  and 
death,  when  so  many  are  enjoying  wealth  and  lux- 
ury in  extravagance  !  I  do  not  wish  them  to  divide 
their  estates  with  the  poor ;  I  am  no  friend  to 
communism  in  any  form :  I  only  wish  institutions 
that  shall  give  to  women  an  education  from  child- 
hood, that  will  enable  them,  like  young  men,  to  earn 
their  livelihood.  These  weak  women  are  the  last 
to  come  forth  to  aid  in  their  emancipation  from 
inefficient  education.  We  cannot  calculate  upon 
these :  we  must  educate  the  children  for  better  po- 
sitions, and  leave  the  adults  to  their  destiny. 

How  many  women  marry  only  for  a  shelter  or  a 


120  A   PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

home !  How  often  have  I  been  the  confidante  of 
girls,  who  the  day  before,  arrayed  in  satin,  had 
given  their  hands  to  rich  men  before  the  altar, 
while  their  hearts  were  breaking  with  suppressed 
agony !  and  this,  too,  among  Americans,  this  great, 
free  nation,  who,  notwithstanding,  let  their  women 
starve.  It  is  but  lately  that  a  young  woman  said 
to  me,  "  I  thank  Heaven,  my  dear  doctor,  that  you 
are  a  woman ;  for  now  I  can  tell  you  the  truth 
about  my  health.  It  is  not  my  body  that  is  sick, 
but  my  heart.  These  flounces  and  velvets  cover  a 
body  that  is  sold,  —  sold  legally  to  a  man  who  could 
pay  my  father's  debts."  Oh  !  I  scorn  men,  some- 
times, from  the  bottom  of  my  heart.  Still  this  is 
wrong :  for  it  is  the  women's,  the  mothers'  fault,  in 
educating  their  daughters  to  be  merely  beautiful 
machines,  fit  to  ornament  a  fine  establishment ; 
while,  if  they  do  not  succeed  in  gaining  this,  there 
is  nothing  left  but  wretchedness  of  mind  and  body. 
"Women,  there  is  a  connection  between  the  Fifth 
Avenue  and  the  Five  Points !  Both  the  rich  and 
the  wretched  are  types  of  womanhood ;  both  are 
linked  together,  forming  one  great  body ;  and  both 
have  the  same  part  in  good  and  evil.  I  can  hardly 
leave  this  subject,  though  it  may  seem  to  have  little 
to  do  with  my  American  experience ;  but  a  word 


"WOMAN'S  EIGHT  TO  LABOR."  121 

spoken  from  a  full  heart  not  only  gives  relief,  but 
may  fall  on  one  listening  ear,  and  take  root  there. 

I  must  now  return  to  my  new  enterprise.  The 
business  paid  well :  and,  although  I  was  often  forced 
to  work  with  my  sister  till  the  dawn  of  morning, 
we  were  happy ;  for  we  had  all  that  we  needed, 
and  I  could  write  home  that  the  offered  assistance 
was  superfluous.  Here  I  must  say,  that  I  had 
resolved,  on  leaving  Berlin,  never  to  ask  for  aid,  in 
order  that  I  might  be  able  with  perfect  freedom  to 
carry  out  my  plans  independently  of  my  family. 
How  this  was  ever  to  be  done,  I  did  not  yet  see ; 
though  I  had  a  good  opportunity  to  learn,  from  life 
and  from  the  papers,  what  I  had  to  expect  here. 
But  this  mode  of  instruction,  though  useful  to  one 
seeking  to  become  a  philosopher,  Avas  very  unsatis- 
factory to  me.  The  chief  thing  that  I  learned  was, 
that  I  must  acquire  English  before  I  could  under- 
take any  thing.  And  this  was  the  most  difficult 
point  to  overcome.  I  am  not  a  linguist  by  nature  : 
all  that  I  learn  of  languages  must  be  obtained  by 
the  greatest  perseverance  and  industry ;  and,  for 
this,  my  business  would  not  allow  me  time. 

Shortly  after  I  had  fairly  established  myself  in 
the  manufacturing  business,  I  received  news  from 


122  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

Berlin,  that  Sister  Catherine  had  left  the  Hospital 
Charite,  and  was  intending  to  join  me  in  America, 
in  order  to  aid  me  in  carrying  out  my  plan  for  the 
establishment  of  a  hospital  for  women  in  the  New 
World.  The  parties  interested  in  her  had  finally 
succeeded  in  placing  her  in  the  wished-for  position, 
thus  disconnecting  her  from  the  sisterhood.  But, 
after  my  departure,  the  position  became  greatly  mo- 
dified in  rank,  and  inferior  in  character.  Private 
reasons  besides  made  it  disagreeable  for  her  to  re- 
main there  any  longer ;  and  in  this  moment  she 
remembered  my  friendship  towards  her,  and  in 
the  unfortunate  belief  that  she  shared  with  many 
others,  that  all  that  I  designed  to  do  I  could  do  at 
once,  resolved  to  come  to  me,  and  offer  her  assist- 
ance. She  joined  us  on  the  22d  of  August,  and 
was  not  a  little  disappointed  to  find  me  in  the  tassel 
instead  of  the  medical  line.  The  astonishment 
with  which  her  acquaintances  in  Berlin  heard  her 
announce  her  intention  of  going  to  seek  help  from 
a  person  to  whom  she  had  been  less  than  a,  friend, 
could  not  be  expressed  in  words  ;  and  she  told  me 
that  the  annoyance  that  they  manifested  was  really 
the  chief  stimulus  that  decided  her  to  come  at  last. 
She  arrived  without  a  cent.  Having  always  found 
friends  enough  ready  to  supply  her  with  money, 


"WOMAN'S  EIGHT  TO  LABOR."  123 

whenever  she  wished  to  establish  a  temporary  hospi- 
tal, it  had  never  occurred  to  her  that  she  should  need 
any  for  private  use,  beyond  just  enough  to  furnish  the 
simple  blue  merino  dress  of  the  sisterhood,  which 
had  often  been  provided  for  her  by  the  Kaiserswerth 
Institute.  But  here  she  was ;  and  she  very  soon 
learned  to  understand  the  difficulties  which  must 
be  overcome  before  I  could  enter  again  into  my 
profession.  She  became  satisfied,  and  lived  with 
us,  sharing  equally  in  whatever  we  had  ourselves. 
There  is  a  peculiar  satisfaction  in  showing  kindness 
to  a  person  who  has  injured  us,  though  unconsci- 
ously, under  different  circumstances :  and,  in  her 
case,  she  was  not  entirely  unconscious  of  the  harm 
she  had  done  me  ;  for  she  confessed  to  me  while  in 
America,  that  her  acquaintance  was  courted  by  all 
those  who  had  been  thwarted  in  their  opposition 
by  my  appointment,  and  that  she  knew  well  that 
they  sought  every  opportunity  to  annoy  me. 

On  the  18th  of  September,  a  sister,  one  year 
younger  than  myself,  joined  us ;  having  been 
tempted  by  our  favorable  accounts  to  try  a  life  of 
adventure.  We  were  now  four  in  the  family.  But 
Catherine  gradually  grew  discontented.  Having 
been  accustomed  to  the  comforts  afforded  in  large 
institutions,  and  to  receiving  attentions  from  the 


124  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION  OF 

most  aristocratic  families  of  Prussia,  the  monoto- 
nous life  that  we  led  was  only  endurable  to  her  so 
long  as  the  novelty  lasted.  This  soon  wore  off, 
and  she  became  anxious  for  a  change.  She  had 
heard  her  fellow-passengers  speak  of  a  Pastor  S., 
who  had  been  sent  to  America  as  a  missionary ; 
and  she  begged  me  to  seek  him  out,  and  take 
her  to  him,  that  she  might  consult  him  as  to 
what  she  had  best  do.  I  did  so,  and  she  soon  be- 
came acquainted  with  his  family.  Hr.'S.  exerted 
himself  in  her  behalf,  and  secured  her  a  place  as 
nurse  in  the  Home  for  the  Friendless,  where  she 
had  the  charge  of  some  thirty  children.  This  was 
a  heavy  task  ;  for,  though  none  were  under  a  year 
old,  she  was  constantly  disturbed  through  the  night, 
and  could  get  but  a  few  hours'  consecutive  sleep. 
Besides,  she  could  not  become  reconciled  to  wash- 
ing under  the  hydrant  in  the  morning,  and  to  being 
forced  to  mingle  with  the  commonest  Irish  girls. 
She  was  in  every  respect  a  lady,  and  had  been  ac- 
customed to  have  a  servant  at  her  command,  even 
in  the  midst  of  the  typhus-fever  in  the  desolate 
districts  of  Silesia;  while  here  she  was  not  even 
treated  with  humanity.  This  soon  grew  unbeara- 
ble ;  and  she -re turned  to  us  on  the  16th  of  October, 
after  having  been  only  ten  days  in  the  institution. 


"WOMAN'S  EIGHT  TO  LABOR."  125 

So  eager  was  she  to  make  her  escape,  that  she  did 
not  even  ask  for  the  two  dollars  that  were  due  her 
for  wages.  But  we  could  not  receive  her ;  for  we 
had  taken  another  woman  in  her  place,  as  friend- 
less and  as  penniless  as  she.  Besides,  a  misfortune 
had  just  fallen  upon  us.  During  the  night  before, 
our  doors  had  been  unlocked,  our  bureau-drawers 
inspected,  and  all  our  money,  amounting  to  fifty-two 
dollars,  carried  off;  and,  when  Catherine  arrived, 
we  were  so  poor  that  we  had  to  borrow  the  bread 
and  milk  for  our  breakfast.  Fortunately,  the  day 
before,  I  had  refused  the  payment  due  me  for  a 
large  bill  of  goods ;  and  this  came  now  in  a  very 
good  time.  I  did  not  feel  justified,  however,  in 
increasing  the  family  to  five  after  our  loss ;  nor  did 
she  claim  our  assistance,  but  went  again  to  Pastor 
S.,  who  had  invited  her  to  visit  his  family.  With 
his  assistance,  she  obtained  some  private  nursing, 
which  maintained  her  until  the  congregation  had 
collected  money  enough  to  enable  her  to  return  to 
Berlin ;  which  she  did  on  the  2d  of  December. 
Having  many  friends  in  the  best  circles  of  that  city, 
she  immediately  found  a  good  practice  again  ;  and  is 
now,  as  she  says,  enjoying  life  in  a  civilized  manner. 
We  moved  at  once  from  the  scene  of  the  rob- 
bery, and  took  a  part  of  a  house  in  Monroe  Street, 


126  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

for  which  we  paid  two  hundred  dollars  a  year. 
Our  business  continued  good,  and  I  had  some  pro- 
spects of  getting  into  practice.  But,  with  spring, 
the  demand  for  worsted  goods  ceased  ;  and  as  my 
practice  brought  me  work,  but  no  money,  I  was 
forced  to  look  out  for  something  else  to  do.  By 
accident,  I  saw  in  a  store  a  coiffure  made  of  silk,  in 
imitation  of  hair,  which  I  bought ;  but  I  found,  on 
examination,  that  I  could  not  manufacture  it,  as  it 
was  machine- work.  I  went,  therefore,  to  Mr.  G-., 
and ,  proposed  to  establish  a  business  with  him,  in 
which  he'  should  manufacture  these  coiffures,  while 
I  would  sell  them  by  wholesale  to  the  merchants 
with  whom  I  was  acquainted.  Mr.  G.  had  com- 
pletely ruined  himself  during  the  winter  by 
neglecting  his  business  and  meddling  with  Tam- 
many-Hall politics,  which  had  wasted  his  money 
and  his  time.  He  had  not  a  single  workman  in 
his  shop  when  I  called,  and  was  too  much  discou- 
raged to  think  of  any  new  enterprise ;  but,  on  my 
telling  him  that  I  would  be  responsible  for  the  first 
outlay,  he  engaged  hands,  and,  in  less  than  a  month, 
had  forty-eight  persons  busily  employed.  In  this 
way  I  earned  money  during  the  spring,  and  freed 
myself  from  the  obligations,  which  his  kindness  in 
receiving  us  the  spring  before  had  laid  upon  us. 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  127 

My  chief  business  now  was  to  sell  the  goods 
manufactured  by  Mr.  G.  Our  worsted  business 
was  very  small ;  and  the  prospect  was  that  it  would 
cease  entirely,  and  that  the  coiffure  that  we  made 
would  not  long  continue  in  fashion.  Some  other 
business,  therefore,  had  to  be  found,  especially  as 
it  was  impossible  for  us  to  lay  up  money.  Our 
family  now  consisted  of  myself  and  two  sisters, 
the  friend  that  was  staying  with  us,  and  a  brother, 
nineteen  years  of  age,  who  had  joined  us  during 
the  winter,  and  who,  though  an  engineer  and  in 
good  business,  was,  like  most  young  men,  thought- 
less, and  more  likely  to  increase  than  to  lighten 
our  burdens.  Our  friend  Mr.  C.,  who  had  be- 
come our  constant  visitor,  planned  at  this  time  a 
journey  to  Europe  ;  so  that  our  social  life  seemed 
also  about  to  come  to  an  end. 

On  the  13th  of  May,  1854,  as  I  was  riding  down 
to  the  stores  on  my  usual  business,  reveries  of  the 
past  took  possession  of  my  mind.  Almost  a  year 
in  America,  and  not  one  step  advanced  towards 
my  purpose  in  coming  hither  !  It  was  true  that  I 
had  a  comfortable  home,  with  enough  to  live  upon, 
and  had  repaid  my  sister  the  money  that  I  had 
borrowed  from  her  on  our  arrival ;  yet  what  kind 
of  a  life  was  it  that  I  was  leading,  in  a  business 


128  A   PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

foreign  to  my  nature  and  inclinations,  and  without 
even  the  prospect  of  enlarging  this  ?  These  re- 
flections made  me  so  sad,  that,  when  I  reached  the 
store,  the  book-keeper  noticed  my  dejection,  and 
told  me,  by  way  of  cheering  me,  that  he  had  another 
order  for  a  hundred  dollars'  worth  of  goods,  &c. ; 
but  this  did  not  relieve  me.  I  entered  the  omnibxis 
again,  speculating  constantly  on  what  I  should  do 
next ;  when  a  thought  suddenly  dawned  upon  me. 
Might  not  the  people  in  the  Home  for  the  Friend- 
less be  able  to  give  me  advice  ?  I  had  hardly 
conceived  the  idea,  when  I  determined  to  ride 
directly  up  there,  instead  of  stopping  at  the  street 
in  which  I  lived.  I  thought,  besides,  that  some 
employment  might  be  found  for  my  sister  Anna,  in 
which  she  could  learn  the  English  language,  for 
which  she  had  evinced  some  talent,  while  I  had 
decided  that  I  could  never  become  master  of  it.  I 
had  seen  the  matron,  Miss  Goodrich,  once  when 
I  called  there  on  Catherine  S.  She  had  a  humane 
face,  and  I  was  persuaded  that  I  should  find  a 
friend  in  her.  I  was  not  mistaken.  I  told  her  of 
my  plans  in  coming  here,  and  of  our  present  mode 
of  life  and  prospects  ;  and  confided  to  her  my  dis- 
appointment and  dejection,  as  well  as  my  determi- 
nation to  persevere  courageously.  She  seemed  to 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  129 

understand   and  to   enter  into   my  feelings,   and 
promised  to  see  Dr.  Elizabeth  Blackwell,  whom 
1  she  advised  me  to  call  upon  at  once. 

I  went  home  full  of  the  hope  and  inspiration  of 
a  new  life.  Dear  Mary,  you  can  hardly  compre- 
hend the  happiness  of  that  morning.  I  was  not 
suffering,  it  is  true,  for  the  necessaries  of  life ;  but, 
what  was  far  worse,  I  suffered  from  the  feeling 
that  I  lived  for  no  purpose  but  to  eat  and  to  drink. 
I  had  no  friends  who  were  interested  in  the  pursuits 
towards  which  my  nature  inclined  ;  and  I  saw 
crowds  of  arrogant  people  about  me,  to  whom  I 
could  not  prove  that  I  was  their  equal  in  spite  of 
their  money.  My  sisters  had  not  seen  me  so  cheer- 
ful since  our  arrival  in  America,  and  thought  that 
I  had  surely  discovered  the  philosopher's  stone.  I 
told  them  of  what  I  had  done,  and  received  their 
approbation. 

On  the  morning  of  the  15th  of  May,  —  the  anni- 
versary of  the  death  of  Dr.  Schmidt  and  of  my 
greatest  joy  and  my  greatest  misery,  —  we  received 
a  call  from  Miss  Goodrich,  who  told  us  that  she 
had  seen  Dr.  Elizabeth  Blackwell,  and  thought  that 
she  had  also  procured  a  suitable  place  for  my  sister. 
She  gave  us  the  addresses  of  Dr.  Blackwell  and  of 
Miss  Catherine  Sedgwick.  We  called  first  upon  the 
9 


130  A  PRACTICAL  ILLUSTRATION   OF 

latter,  who  was  extremely  kind  ;  and  although  she 
had  quite  misunderstood  our  wishes,  —  having  ex- 
erted herself  to  procure  a  place  for  my  sister  in  a  • 
way  that  manifested  the  belief  that  we  had  neither 
a  home  nor  the  means  to  live,  — yet  her  friendliness 
and  readiness  to  assist  us  made  us  for  ever  grateful 
to  her.  At  that  time  we  did  not  know  her  standing 
in  society,  and  looked  upon  her  merely  as  a  benevo- 
lent and  wealthy  woman.  We  soon  learned  more 
of  her,  however :  for,  though  unsuccessful  in  her 
first  efforts,  she  shortly  after  sent  for  my  sister, 
having  secured  her  a  place  in  Mr.  Theodore  Sedg- 
wick's  family ;  which  was  acceptable,  inasmuch  as 
it  placed  her  above  the  level  of  the  servants.  She 
remained  there  seven  weeks,  and  then  returned 
home. 

On  the  same  morning,  I  saw  Dr.  Elizabeth 
Blackwell ;  and  from  this  call  of  the  15th  of  May 
I  date  my  new  life  in  America.  She  spoke  a  little 
German,  and  understood  me  perfectly  when  I 
talked.  I  gave  her  all  my  certificates  for  inspec- 
tion, but  said  nothing  to  her  of  my  plans  in  coming 
to  America.  It  would  have  seemed  too  ludicrous 
for  me  in  my  position  to  tell  her  that  I  entertained 
the  idea  of  interesting  the  people  in  the  establish- 
ment of  a  hospital  for  women.  I  hardly  know 


"WOMAN'S  BIGHT  TO  LABOR."  131 

what  I  told  her,  indeed ;  for  I  had  no  other  plan  of 
which  to  speak,  and  therefore  talked  confusedly, 
like  an  adventurer.  I  only  know  that  I  said  that 
I  would  take  the  position  of  nurse,  if  I  could  enter 
one  of  the  large  hospitals,  in  order  to  learn  the 
manner  in  which  they  "were  managed  in  this  coun- 
try. 

I  cannot  comprehend  how  Dr.  Blackwell  could 
ever  have  taken  so  deep  an  interest  in  me  as  she 
manifested  that  morning ;  for  I  never  in  my  life 
was  so  little  myself.  Yet  she  did  take  this  interest ; 
for  she  gave  me  a  sketch  of  her  own  experience  in 
acquiring  a  medical  education,  and  explained  the 
requirements  for  such  in  this  country,  and  the  ob- 
stacles that  are  thrown  in  the  way  of  women  who 
seek  to  become  physicians.  She  told  me  of  her  plan 
of  founding  a  hospital,  —  the  long-cherished  idea 
of  my  life ;  and  said  that  she  had  opened  a  little 
dispensary  —  the  charter  for  which  was  procured 
during  the  preceding  winter,  under  the  name  of 
"The  New -York  Infirmary  for  Indigent  "Women 
and  Children"  —  on  the  1st  of  May,  two  weeks 
before,  and  which  was  designed  to  be  the  nucleus 
foe  this  hospital,  where  she  invited  me  to  come  and 
assist  her.  She  insisted  that,  first  of  all,  I  should 
learn  English  ;  and  offered  to  give  me  lessons  twice 


132  A  PRACTICAL  ILLUSTRATION  OP 

a  week,  and  also  to  make  efforts  to  enable  me  to 
enter  a  college  to  acquire  the  title  of  M.D.,  which 
I  had  not  the  right  to  attach  to  my  name.  I  left 
her  after  several  hours'  conversation,  and  we  parted 
friends. 

I  continued  my  work  at  home  ;  going  regularly  to 
Dr.  Black  well  to  receive  lessons  in  English,  and 
to  assist  her  in  the  dispensary.  As  we  grew  better 
acquainted,  I  disclosed  more  to  her  of  the  fact,  that 
I  had  a  fixed  plan  in  coming  to  this  country ;  which 
increased  her  interest  in  me.  She  wrote  in  my 
behalf  to  the  different  colleges,  and  at  length  suc- 
ceeded in  obtaining  admission  for  me  to  the 
Cleveland  Medical  College  (Western  Reserve)  on 
the  most  favorable  terms  ;  credit  being  given  me 
on  the  lecture-fees  for  an  indefinite  time. 

Here  I  must  stop  to  tell  you  why  this  credit  was 
necessary.  The  articles  that  I  had  manufactured 
had  gone  out  of  fashion  in  May :  and  I  could  not 
invent  any  thing  new,  partly  because  I  no  longer 
felt  the  same  interest  as  before,  knowing  that  I 
should  soon  go  to  a  medical  college ;  and  partly 
because  the  articles  then  in  fashion  were  cheaper 
when  imported.  We  had  to  live  for  a  little  while 
on  the  money  that  we  had  laid  up,  until  I  procured 
a  commission  for  embroidering  caps.  It  is  per- 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  133- 

fectly  wonderful  into  what  kinds  of  business  I  was 
forced,  all  foreign  to  my  taste. 

And  here  let  me  tell  you  some  secrets  of  this 
kind  of  business,  in  which  hundreds  of  women 
starve,  and  hundreds  more  go  down  to  a  life  of 
infamy.  Cap-making  (the  great  business  of  Water 
Street  of  New  York)  gives  employment  to  thou- 
sands of  unfortunates.  For  embroidering  caps, 
the  wholesale  dealer  pays  seven  cents  each ;  and 
for  making  up,  three  cents.  To  make  a  dozen  a 
day,  one  must  work  for  sixteen  hours.  The  em- 
broidering is  done  in  this  wise  :  I  received  the 
cut  cloth  from  the  wholesale  dealer ;  drew  the  pat- 
tern  upon  each  cap ;  gave  them,  with  three  cents' 
worth  of  silk,  to  the  embroiderer,  who  received  three 
cents  for  her  work  ;  then  pressed  and  returned 
them ;  thus  making  one  cent  on  each  for  myself. 
By  working  steadily  for  sixteen  hours,  a  girl  could 
embroider  fifteen  in  a  day.  I  gave  out  about  six 
dozen  daily ;  earning,  like  the  rest,  fifty  cents  a  day : 
unless  I  chose  to  do  the  stamping  and  pressing  at 
night,  and  to  embroider  a  dozen  during  the  day ;  in 
which  case,  I  earned  a  dollar. 

One  can  live  in  this  way  for  a  little  while,  until 
health  fails,  or  the  merchant  says  that  the  work 
has  come  to  an  end.  You  will  think  this  terrible 


134  A   PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OP 

again.  Oh,  no  !  this  is  not  terrible.  The  good  men 
provide  in  another  way.  They  tell  every  woman  of 
a  prepossessing  appearance,  that  it  is  wrong  in  her 
to  work  so  hard ;  that  many  a  man  would  be  glad 
to  care  for  her ;  and  that  many  women  live  quite 
comfortably  with  the  help  of  a  friend.  They  suy, 
further,  that  it  is  lonely  to  live  without  ever  going 
to  church,  to  the  concert  and  theatre  ;  and  that  if 
these  women  would  only  permit  the  speakers  to 
visit  them,  and  to  attend  them  to  any  of  these  places, 
they  would  soon  find  that  they  would  no  longer  be 
obliged  to  work  so  hard.  This  is  the  polished  talk 
of  gentlemen  who  enjoy  the  reputation  of  piety  and 
respectability,  and  who  think  it  a  bad  speculation 
to  pay  women  liberally  for  their  work.  So  it  would 
be,  in  truth  ;  for  these  poor  creatures  would  not  be 
so  willing  to  abandon  themselves  to  a  disreputa- 
ble life,  if  they  could  procure  bread  in  any  other 
way. 

During  the  summer  of  1854,  I  took  work  on 
commission  from  men  of  this  sort.  While  in  Ber- 
lin, I  had  learned  from  the  prostitutes  in  the  hospi- 
tal in  what  manner  educated  women  often  became 
what  they  then  were.  The  average  story  was  al- 
ways the  same.  The  purest  love  made  them  weak ; 
their  lover  deceived  and  deserted  them  ;  their 


"WOMAN'S  BIGHT  TO  LABOR."  135 


family  cast  them  off  by  way  of  punishment.  In 
their  disgrace,  they  went  to  bury  themselves  in 
large  cities,  where  the  work  that  they  could  find 
scarcely  gave  them  their  daily  bread.  Their  em- 
ployers, attracted  by  their  personal  appearance  and 
the  refinement  of  their  speech  and  manners,  offered 
them  assistance  in  another  way,  in  which  they  could 
earn  money  without  work.  In  despair,  they  ac- 
cepted the  proposals  ;  and  sunk  gradually,  step 
by  step,  to  the  depths  of  degradation,  as  depicted 
by  Hogarth  in  the  "  Harlot's  Progress."  In  New 
York,  I  was  thrown  continually  among  men  who 
were  of  the  stamp  that  I  described  before  ;  and  can 
say,  even  from  my  own  experience,  that  no  man  is 
ever  more  polite,  more  friendly,  or  more  kind,  than 
one  who  has  impure  wishes  in  his  heart.  It  is 
really  so  dangerous  for  a  woman  of  refined  nature 
to  go  to  such  stores,  that  I  never  suffered  my  sister 
to  visit  them ;  not  because  I  feared  that  she  would 
listen  to  these  men,  but  because  I  could  not  endure 
the  thought  that  so  innocent  and  beautiful  a  girl 
should  come  in  contact  with  them,  or  even  breathe 
the  same  atmosphere.  When  fathers  are  unwilling 
that  their  daughters  shall  enter  life  as  physicians, 
lawyers,  merchants,  or  in  any  other  public  capacity, 
it  is  simply  because  they  belong  to  the  class  that  so 


136  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION  OF 

contaminates  the  air,  that  none  can  breathe  it  but 
themselves ;  or  because,  from  being  thrown  con- 
stantly in  contact  with  such  men,  they  .arrive  at  the 
same  point  at  which  I  then  stood,  and  say  to  them- 
selves, "  /  can  afford  to  meet  such  men.  I  am 
steeled  by  my  knowledge  of  mankind,  and  supported 
by  the  philosophy  that  I  have  learned  during  years 
of  trial.  It  cannot  hurt  me  ;  but,  by  all  means, 
spare  the  young  and  beautiful  the  same  expe- 
rience ! " 

I  dealt  somewhat  haughtily  with  the  merchants 
whom  I  have  described,  in  a  manner  that  at  once 
convinced  them  of  my  position.  But  the  conse- 
quence was,  that  the  embroidery  commission,  which 
had  commenced  so  favorably,  suddenly  ceased, 
"  because  the  Southern  trade  had  failed : "  in  truth, 
because  I  would  not  allow  any  of  these  men  to  say 
any  more  to  me  than  was  absolutely  necessary  in 
our  business.  My  income  became  less  and  less, 
and  we  were  forced  to  live  upon  the  money  that 
we  had  laid  up  during  the  year.  I  did  not  look  for 
any  new  sources  of  employment,  for  I  was  intend- 
ing to  go  to  Cleveland  in  October ;  while  my  next 
sister  had  business  of  her  own,  and  Anna  was  en- 
gaged to  be  married  to  our  friend  Mr.  C.  My 
brother  was  also  with  them  ;  and  my  mother's 


"WOMAN'S  EIGHT  TO  LABOR."  137 

| 

brother,  whom  she  had  adopted  as  a  child,  was  on 
his  way  to  America. 

After  having  settled  our  affairs,  fifty  dollars  re- 
mained as  my  share  ;  and,  with  this  sum,  I  set  out 
for  Cleveland  on  the  16th  of  October,  1854.  Dr. 
Elizabeth  Blackwell  had  supplied  me  with  the  ne- 
cessary medical  text-books  ;  so  that  I  had  no  other 
expenses  than  my  journey  and  the  matriculation 
fees,  which  together  amounted  to  twenty  dollars, 
leaving  thirty  dollars  in  my  possession. 

I  do  not  believe  that  many  begin  the  study  of 
medicine  with  so  light  a  purse  and  so  heavy  a  heart 
as  did  I.  My  heart  was  heavy  for  the  reason  that 
I  did  not  know  a  single  sentence  of  English.  All 
of  my  study  with  Dr.  Blackwell  had  been  like  rain- 
drops falling  upon  stone  :  I  had  profited  nothing. 
The  lectures  I  did  not  care  for,  since  there  was 
more  need  of  my  studying  English  than  medicine : 
but  the  subjects  were  well  known  to  me  ;  and  I 
therefore  reasoned,  that,  by  hearing  familiar  things 
treated  of  in  English,  I  must  learn  the  language ; 
and  the  logic  held  good. 

I  have  already  told  you  that  the  Faculty  had 
agreed  to  give  me  credit  for  my  lecture-fees.  Dr. 
Blackwell  had  written  also  to  a  lady  there,  who 
had  called  upon  her  some  time  before  in  the  capa- 


138  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION    OF 

city  of  President  of  a  Physiological  Society,  which, 
among  other  good  things,  had  established  a  small 
fund  for  the  assistance  of  women  desirous  of  study- 
ing medicine.  This  lady  (Mrs.  Caroline  M.  Seve- 
rance) replied  in  the  most  friendly  manner,  saying 
that  I  might  come  directly  to  her  house,  and  that 
she  would  see  that  my  board  for  the  winter  was 
secured  by  the  Physiological  Society  over  which 
she  presided. 

The  journey  -to  Cleveland  was  a  silent  but  a 
pleasant  one.  Through  a  mishap,  I  arrived  on 
Saturday  night,  instead  of  in  the  morning  ;  and, 
being  unwilling  to  disturb  Mrs.  Severance  at  so  late 
an  hour,  went  first  to  a  hotel.  But  what  trials  I 
had  there  !  No  one  could  understand  me  ;  until  at 
last  I  wrote  on  a  slate  my  own  name  and  Mrs. 
Severance's,  with  the  words,  "A  carriage,"  and 
"  To-morrow."  From  this  the  people  inferred  that 
I  wished  to  stay  at  the  hotel  all  night,  and  to  have 
a  carriage  to  take  me  to  Mrs.  Severance's  the  next 
day ;  as  was  the  case.  A  waiter  took  my  carpet- 
bag, and  conducted  me  to  a  room.  I  could  not 
understand  his  directions  to  the  supper-room,  nei- 
ther could  I  make  him  understand  that  I  wanted 
some  supper  in  my  own  room  ;  and  the  consequence 
was,  that  I  went  to  bed  hungry,  having  eaten 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  139 

nothing  all  day  but  a  little  bread,  and  an  apple  for 
luncheon. 

As  soon  as  I  was  dressed  the  next  morning,  I 
rang  the  bell  furiously ;  and,  on  the  appearance  of 
the  waiter,  exclaimed,  "Beefsteak!"  This  time 
he  comprehended  me,  and  went  laughingly  away  to 
bring  me  a  good  breakfast.  I  often  saw  the  same 
waiter  afterwards  at  the  hotel ;  and  he  never  saw 
me  without  laughing,  and  exclaiming,  "  Beef- 
steak !  " 

In  the  course  of  the  forenoon,  I  was  taken  in  a 
carriage  to  the  house  of  Mrs.  Severance ;  but  the 
family  were  not  at  home.  I  returned  to  the  hotel, 
somewhat  disheartened  and  disappointed.  Al- 
though I  should  have  supposed  that  death  was  not 
far  off  if  no  disappointment  had  happened  to  me 
when  I  least  expected  it,  yet  this  persistent  going 
wrong  of  every  thing  in  Cleveland  was  really 
rather  dispiriting.  But  a  bright  star  soon  broke 
through  the  clouds,  in  the  shape  of  Mr.  Severance, 
who  came  into  the  parlor  directly  after  dinner, 
calling  for  me  in  so  easy  and  so  cordial  a  manner, 
that  I  forgot  every  thing,  and  was  perfectly  happy. 
This  feeling,  however,  lasted  only  until  I  reached 
the  house.  I  found  four  fine  children,  all  full  of 
childish  curiosity  to  hear  me  talk  ;  who,  as  soon  as 


140  A  PRACTICAL  ILLUSTRATION  OP 

they  found  that  I  could  not  make  myself  under- 
stood by  them,  looked  on  me  with  that  sort  of  con- 
tempt peculiar  to  children  when  they  discover  that 
a  person  cannot  do  as  much  as  they  can  themselves. 
Mr.  Severance,  too,  was  expecting  to  find  me  ac- 
complished in  music,  "  like  all  Germans ; "  and  had 
to  learn  that  I  had  neither  voice  nor  ear  for  the  art 
Mrs.  Severance  understood  a  little  German,  yet  not 
half  enough  to  gain  any  idea  of  how  much  or  how 
little  I  was  capable  of  doing ;  and  therefore  looked 
upon  me  with  a  sort  of  uncertainty  as  to  what  was 
my  real  capacity.  This  position  was  more  provok- 
ing than  painful ;  there  was  even  something  ludi- 
crous in  it :  and,  when  not  annoyed,  I  often  went 
into  my  room  to  indulge  in  a  hearty  laugh  by 
myself. 

I  met  with  a  most  cordial  reception  in  the  col- 
lege. The  dean  (Dr.  John  J.  Delamater)  received 
me  like  a  father ;  and,  on  the  first  day,  I  felt  per- 
fectly at  home.  All  was  going  on  well.  I  had  a 
home  at  Mrs.  Severance's ;  while,  despite  my  muti- 
lated  English,  I  found  many  friends  in  the  college, 
when  circumstances  changed  every  thing.  Some 
changes  occuf  red  in  Mr.  Severance's  business ;  and 
he  was  forced,  in  consequence,  to  give  up  house- 
keeping. At  that  time,  I  did  not  know  that  the 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  141 

Physiological  Society  was  ready  to  lend  me  money ; 
and  was  therefore  in  great  distress.  I  never  expe- 
rienced so  bitter  a  day  as  that  on  which  Mrs.  Seve- 
rance told  me  that  I  could  stay  with  her  no  longer. 
It  was  but  five  weeks  after  my  arrival,  and  I  was 
not  able  to  make  myself  understood  in  the  English 
language,  which  was  like  chaos  to  me.  On  the 
same  day,  I  well  remember,  that,  for  the  first  time 
in  my  life,  I  made  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  bor- 
row money ;  and,  because  it  was  the  first  and  the 
last  time,  it  was  the  more  painful  to  me  to  be  re- 
fused. I  envied  the  dog  that  lived,  and  was  happy 
without  troubling  his  brain  ;  I  envied  the  kitchen- 
maid,  that  did  her  work  mechanically,  and  enjoyed 
life  far  more  than  those  fitted  by  nature  for  some- 
thing higher,  while  the  world  would  go  on  just  as 
well  without  them  as  with  them. 

Mrs.  Severance  secured  a  boarding-place  for  me 
for  the  rest  of  the  winter ;  and  paid  my  board, 
amounting  to  thirty-three  dollars,  from  the  funds 
of  the  society.  I  lived  quietly  by  myself;  studied 
six  hours  daily  at  home,  with  four  dictionaries  by 
me  ;  attending  six  lectures  a  day,  and  going  in  the 
evening  for  three  hours  to  the  dissecting- rooms. 
I  never  conversed  with  any  one  in  the  boarding- 
house,  nor  even  asked  for  any  thing  at  the  table ; 


142  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OP 

but  was  supplied  like  a  mute.  This  silence  was 
fruitful  to  me.  About  New  Year,  I  ventured  to 
make  my  English  audible  ;  when,  lo  !  every  one  un- 
derstood me  perfectly.  From  this  time  forward, 
I  sought  to  make  acquaintances,  to  the  especial  de- 
light of  good  old  Dr.  Delamater,  who  had  firmly 
believed  that  I  was  committing  gradual  suicide. 
Through  Mrs.  Severance,  I  became  acquainted 
with  Dr.  Harriot  K.  Hunt,  who  was  then  on  a 
visit  to  Cleveland ;  and,  through  her,  with  the  Rev. 
A.  D.  Mayo,  who  was  pastor  of  a  small  society 
there,  known  as  that  of  the  Liberal  Christians. 

I  found  many  dear  and  valued  friends  during  my 
residence  in  Cleveland,  but  none  to  whom  I  am 
bound  in  lasting  gratitude  as  to  Mr.  Mayo,  who 
offered  me  his  assistance  when  he  learned  that  I 
was  in  need ;  my  extra  expenses  having  swallowed 
up  the  little  money  that  I  had  brought  with  me,  so 
that  I  had  not  even  enough  to  return  to  my  sisters 
in  New  York.  As  the  minister  of  a  small  congre- 
gation, advocating  Liberal  ideas,  he  had  a  hard 
position  in  Cleveland,  both  socially  and  pecuniarily ; 
yet  he  offered  to  share  his  little  with  me.  I  was 
forced  to  accept  it ;  and  I  am  now,  and  have  always 
been,  glad  that  I  did  so.  No  one,  that  has  not  had 
the  experience,  can  appreciate  the  happiness  that 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  143 

comes  with  the  feeling,  that  a  rich  man  has  not 
cast  a  fragment  of  his  superfluity  towards  you  (and 
here  let  me  remark,  that  it  is  next  to  impossible  to 
find  wealth  and  generosity  go  together  in  friend- 
ship) ,  but  that  the  help  comes  from  one  who  must 
work  for  it  as  well  as  the  recipient.  It  proves  the 
existence  of  the  mutual  appreciation  that  is  known 
by  the  name  of  "  friendship."  The  apple  given  by  a 
friend  is  worth  ten  times  more  than  a  whole  orchard 
bestowed  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  you  feel  that 
the  gift  is  but  the  superfluity  of  the  donor. 

I  remained  for  ten  months  a  member  of  Mr. 
Mayo's  family ;  when  he  received  a  call  to  Albany, 
and  changes  had  to  be  made  in  his  household. 
During  this  time,  I  earned  a  little  money  by  giving 
lessons  in  German,  that  served  to  cover  my  most 
necessary  expenses.  For  the  last  five  months  that 
I  spent  in  Cleveland,  I  carried  in  my  purse  one 
solitary  cent  as  a  sort  of  talisman  ;  firmly  believing 
that  some  day  it  would  turn  into  gold :  but  this 
did  not  happen  ;  and  on  the  day  that  I  was  expect- 
ing the  receipt  of  the  last  eighteen  dollars  for  my 
lessons,  which  were  designed  to  bear  my  expenses 
to  New  York,  I  gave  it  to  a  poor  woman  in  the 
street  who  begged  me  for  a  cent ;  and  it  doubtless, 
ere  long,  found  its  way  into  a  gin-shop. 


144  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

The  twenty  months  that  I  spent  in  Cleveland  were 
chiefly  devoted  to  the  study  of  medicine  in  the 
English  language ;  and  in  this  I  was  assisted  by 
most  noble  -  hearted  men.  Dr.  Delamater's  office 
became  a  pleasant  spot,  and  its  occupants  a  neces- 
sity to  me ;  and,  on  the  days  that  I  did  not  meet 
them,  my  spirits  fell  below  zero.  In  spite  of  the 
pecuniary  distress  from  which  I  constantly  suffered, 
I  was  happier  in  Cleveland  than  ever  before  or 
since.  I  lived  in  my  element ;  having  a  fixed  pur- 
pose in  view,  and  enjoying  the  warmest  tokens  of 
real  friendship.  I  was  liked  in  the  college  ;  and, 
though  the  students  often  found  it  impossible  to 
repress  a  hearty  laugh  at  my  ridiculous  blunders  in 
English,  they  always  showed  me  respect  and  fel- 
lowship in  the  highest  sense  of  the  terms.  In  the 
beginning  of  the  first  winter,  I  was  the  only  wo- 
man ;  after  the  first  month,  another  was  admitted ; 
and,  during  the  second  winter,  there  were  three 
besides  myself  that  attended  the  lectures  and  gradu- 
ated in  the  spring.  I  should  certainly  look  upon 
this  season  as  the  spring-time  of  my  life,  had  not  a 
sad  event  thrown  a  gloom  over  the  whole. 

In  the  autumn  of  1854,  after  deciding  to  go  to 
Cleveland  to  resume  my  medical  studies,  I  wrote 
to  my  parents  to  tell  them  of  my  hopes  and  aims. 


"WOMAN'S  EIGHT  TO  LABOR."  145 

These  letters  were  not  received  with  the  same 
pleasure  with  which  they  had  been  written.  My 
father,  who  had  encouraged  me  before  my  entrance 
upon  a  public  career,  was  not  only  grieved  by  my 
return  to  my  old  mode  of  life,  but  greatly  opposed 
to  it,  and  manifested  this  in  the  strongest  words  in 
the  next  letter  that  I  received  from  him.  My  mo- 
ther, on  the  contrary,  who  had  not  been  at  all 
enthusiastic  in  the  beginning,  was  rather  glad  to 
receive  the  news.  As  I  had  left  many  good  friends 
among  the  physicians  of  Berlin,  my  letters  were 
always  circulated,  after  their  arrival,  by  one  of  their 
number  who  stood  high  in  the-  profession  ;  and, 
though  I  did  not  receive  my  father's  approbation, 
he  sent  me  several  letters  from  strangers  who 
approved  my  conduct,  and  who,  after  hearing  my 
letters,  had  sent  him  congratulations  upon  my 
doings  in  America.  How  he  received  the  respect 
thus  manifested  to  him,  you  can  judge  from  a  pas- 
sage in  one  of  his  letters,  which  I  will  quote  to 
you:  — 

"  I  am  proud  of  you,  my  daughter ;  yet  you  give 
me  more  grief  than  any  other  of  my  children.  If 
you  were  a  young  man,  I  could  not  find  words 
in  which  to  express  my  satisfaction  and  pride  in 
respect  to  your  acts  ;  for  I  know  that  all  you 
10 


14C  A   PRACTICAL    ILLUSTRATION   OP 

accomplish  you  owe  to  yourself:  but  you  are  a 
woman,  a  weak  woman  ;  and  all  that  I  can  do  for 
you  now  is  to  grieve  and  to  weep.  O  my  daugh- 
ter !  return  from  this  unhappy  path.  Believe  me, 
the  temptation  of  living  for  humanity  en  masse, 
magnificent  as  it  may  appear  in  its  aim,  will  lead 
you  only  to  learn  that  all  is  vanity ;  while  the  in- 
gratitude of  the  mass  for  whom  you  choose  to  work 
will  be  your  compensation." 

Letters  of  this  sort  poured  upon  me ;  and,  when 
my  father  learned  that  neither  his  reasoning  nor 
his  prayers  could  turn  me  from  a  work  which  I 
had  begun  with  such  enthusiasm,  he  began  to 
threaten ;  telling  me  that  I  must  not  expect  any 
pecuniary  assistance  from  him ;  that  I  would  con- 
tract debts  in  Cleveland  which  I  should  never  be 
able  to  pay,  and  which  would  certainly  undermine 
my  prospects ;  with  more  of  this  sort.  My  good 
father  did  not  know  that  I  had  vowed  to  myself,  on 
my  arrival  in  America,  that  I  would  never  ask  his 
aid ;  and  besides,  he  never  imagined  that  I  could 
go  for  five  months  with  a  single  cent  in  my  pocket. 
Oh,  how  small  all  these  difficulties  appeared  to  me, 
especially  at  a  time  when  I  began  to  speak  English  ! 
I  felt  so  rich,  that  I  never  thought  money  could  not 
be  had,  whenever  I  wanted  it  in  good  earnest. 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  147 

After  having  been  nine  months  in  Cleveland,  I 
received  news  that  my  mother  had  left  Berlin 
with  my  two  youngest  sisters  to  pay  us  a  visit,  and 
to  see  what  the  prospects  would  be  for  my  father  in 
case  she  chose  to  remain.  Dear  Mary,  shall  I 
attempt  to  describe  to  you  the  feeling  that  over- 
powered me  on  the  receipt  of  these  tidings  ?  If  I 
did,  you  never  could  feel  it  with  me  :  for  I  could  not 
picture  in  words  the  joy  that  I  felt  at  the  prospect 
of  beholding  again  the  mother  whom  I  loved  be- 
yond all  expression,  and  who  was  my  friend 
besides  ;  for  we  really  never  thought  of  each  other 
in  our  relation  of  mother  and  child,  but  as  two  who 
were  bound  together  as  friends  in  thought  and  in 
feeling.  No  :  I  cannot  give  you  a  description  of 
this,  especially  as  it  was  mingled  with  the  fear  that 
I  might  not  have  the  means  to  go  to  greet  her  in 
New  York  before  another  ten  months  were  over. 
Day  and  night,  night  and  day,  she  was  in  my  mind ; 
and,  from  the  time  that  I  had  a  right  to  expect  her 
arrival,  I  counted  the  hours  from  morning  until 
noon,  and  from  noon  until  night,  when  the  telegraph 
office  would  be  closed.  At  length,  on  the  18th  of 
September,  the  despatch  came,  —  not  to  me,  but  to 
my  friend  Mr.  Mayo,  —  bearing  the  words,  "  Tell 
Marie  that  she  must  calmly  and  quietly  receive  the 


148  A   PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION  OP 

news  that  our  good  mother  sleeps  at  the  bottom  of 
the  ocean,  which  serves  as  her  monument  and  her 
grave."  Mary,  this  is  the  most  trying  passage 
that  I  have  to  write  in  this  sketch  of  my  life  ;  and 
you  must  not  think  me  weak  that  tears  blot  the 
words  as  I  write.  My  mother  fell  a  victim  to  sea- 
sickness, which  brought  on  a  violent  hemorrhage, 
that  exhausted  the  sources  of  life.  She  died  three 
weeks  before  the  vessel  reached  the  port ;  and  my 
two  sisters  (the  one  seventeen  and  the  other  nine 
years  of  age)  chose  rather  to  have  her  lowered  on 
the  Banks  of  Newfoundland,  than  bring  to  us  a 
corpse  instead  of  the  living.  They  were  right ; 
and  the  great  ocean  seems  to  me  her  fitting  monu- 
ment. 

Of  course,  upon  the  receipt  of  these  tidings,  I 
could  remain  no  longer  in  Cleveland,  but  took  my 
last  money,  and  went  to  New  York  to  stay  for  a 
while  with  my  afflicted  brother  and  sisters.  The 
journey  was  very  beneficial  to  me  ;  for,  without  it, 
I  should  not  have  been  able  to  go  through  my  win- 
ter's study.  During  my  stay  in  New  York,  I  often 
visited  Dr.  Elizabeth  Black  well,  and  learned  that 
the  little  dispensary  was  closed  because  her  prac- 
tice prevented  her  from  attending  it  regularly  ;  but 
that,  during  my  absence,  she  had  been  trying  to 


"WOMAN'S  EIGHT  TO  LABOR."  149 

interest  some  wealthy  friends  in  the  collection  of 
money,  to  enable  us,  after  my  return  in  the  spring, 
to  commence  again  upon  a  little  larger  scale.  To 
effect  this,  she  proposed  to  hold  a  fair  during  the 
winter  after  my  return  ;  and  we  concluded  that 
the  first  meeting  for  this  purpose  should  be  held 
during  my  visit  in  New  York.  She  succeeded  in 
calling  together  a  few  friends  at  her  house,  who 
determined  to  form  a  nucleus  for  a  Fair  Associa- 
tion, for  the  purpose  of  raising  money  for  the  New- 
York  Infirmary. 

I  made  a  visit  of  a  few  days  to  Boston,  and  then 
returned  again  to  Cleveland.  The  winter  passed 
in  very  much  the  same  manner  as  the  first,  with 
the  difference  that  I  spoke  better  English,  and  vi- 
sited many  friends  whom  I  had  made  during  the 
preceding  year.  In  the  spring  of  1856,  I  gradu- 
ated. Shortly  after  commencement,  the  Dean  of 
the  College  (Dr.  Delamater)  called  upon  me  at  the 
house  of  a  friend  with  whom  I  was  staying  on  a 
visit.  A  call  from  this  venerable  gentleman  was 
a  thing  so  unusual,  that  numberless  conjectures  as 
to  what  this  visit  might  mean  flitted  through  my 
brain  on  my  way  to  the  parlor.  He  received  me, 
as  usual,  paternally ;  wished  me  a  thousand  bless- 
ings ;  and  handed  back  to  me  the  note  for  one 


150  A   PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OP 

hundred  and  twenty  dollars,  payable  in  two  years, 
which  I  had  given  for  the  lecture-fees  ;  telling  me, 
that,  in  the  meeting  of  the  Faculty  after  graduating- 
day,  it  was  proposed  by  one  of  the  professors  to 
return  the  note  to  me  as  a  gift;  to  which  those 
present  cheerfully  gave  a  unanimous  vote,  adding 
their  wishes  for  my  success,  and  appointing  Dr. 
Delamater  as  their  delegate  to  inform  me  of  the 
proceedings.  This  was  a  glorious  beginning,  for 
which  I  am  more  than  thankful,  and  for  which  I 
was  especially  so  at  that  time,  when  I  had  barely 
money  enough  to  return  to  New  York,  with  very 
small  prospects  of  getting  means  wherewith  to 
commence  practice.  The  mention  of  this  fact 
might  be  thought  indiscreet  by  the  Faculty  in 
Cleveland,  were  they  still  so  organized  as  to  admit 
women ;  which,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  is  no  longer  the 
case ;  though  they  give  as  their  reason,  that  women 
at  present  have  their  own  medical  colleges,  and, 
consequently,  have  no  longer  need  of  theirs. 

Before  I  quit  the  subject  of  the  Cleveland  Col- 
lege, I  must  mention  a  fact,  which  may  serve  as  an 
argument  against  the  belief  that  the  sexes  cannot 
study  together  without  exerting  an  injurious  effect 
upon  each  other.  During  the  last  winter  of  my 
study,  there  was  such  emulation  in  respect  to  the 


"WOMAN'S  EIGHT  TO  LABOR."  151 

graduating  honors  among  the  candidates  for  gradua- 
tion, comprising  thirty-eight  male  and  four  female 
students,  that  all  studied  more  closely  than  they 
had  ever  done  before  —  the  men  not  wishing  to  be 
excelled  by  the  women,  nor  the  women  by  the  men ; 
and  one  of  the  professors  afterwards  told  me,  that 
whereas  it  was  usually  a  difficult  thing  to  decide 
upon  the  three  best  theses  to  be  read  publicly  at  the 
commencement,  since  all  were  more  or  less  indif- 
ferently written,  this  year  the  theses  were  all  so 
good,  that  it  was  necessary,  to  avoid  doing  absolute 
injustice,  to  select  thirteen  from  which  parts  should 
be  read.  Does  not  this  prove  that  the  stimulus  of 
the  one  sex  upon  the  other  would  act  rather  favo- 
rably than  otherwise  upon  the  profession  ?  and 
would  not  the  very  best  tonic  that  could  be  given 
to  the  individual  be  to  pique  his  amour  propre  by 
the  danger  of  being  excelled  by  one  of  the  opposite 
sex  ?  Is  not  this  natural  ?  and  would  not  this  be 
the  best  and  the  surest  reformation  of  humanity 
and  its  social  condition,  if  left  free  to  work  out  its 
own  development  ? 

On  the  day  following  the  visit  of  Dr.  Delamater, 
I  received  a  letter  from  my  brother-in-law,  in  which 
he  told  me  that  his  business  compelled  him  to  go  to 
Europe  for  half  a  year  ;  and  that  he  had,  therefore, 


152  A    PRACTICAL    II  .11  -IKUI'.s   OF 

made  arrangements  for  mo  to  procure  money,  in 
case  th.it  I  -hould  need  it  to  commence  my  practice. 
Ho  said  that  he  intended  to  assist  mo  uft.Tu  .ml-  ; 
but  that,  as  he  thought  it  best  for  my  sister  (his 
wife)  to  live  out  of  New  York  during  his  absence, 
he  was  willing  to  lend  me  as  much  money  as  I  re- 
quired  until  his  return.  I  accepted  his  offer  with 
infinite  pleasure  ;  for  it  was  another  instance  of  real 
friendship.  He  was  by  no  means  a  rich  man,  but 
was  simply  in  the  employ  of  a  largo  importing 


With  these  prospects  I  left  Cleveland.  Imme- 
diately after  my  arrival  in  New  York,  I  began  to 
look  out  for  a  suitable  office  ;  consulting  Dr.  Eliza- 
beth Blackwell,  with  whom  I  had  maintain.--!  a 
constant  correspondence,  in  regard  to  location.  I 
goon  found  that  I  could  not  obtain  a  respectable 
room  without  paying  an  exorbitant  price.  Some 
were  afraid  to  let  an  office  to  a  female  physician, 
lest  she  might  turn  out  a  spiritual  medium,  clair- 
voyant, hrdropathist,  &c.  ;  others,  who  believed 
me  when  I  told  them  that  I  had  a  diploma  from  a 
regular  school,  and  should  never  practise  contrary 
to  its  requirements,  inquired  to  what  religious  deno- 
mination I  belonged,  and  whether  I  had  a  private 
fortune,  or  intended  to  support  myself  by  my  prac- 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  153 

tice  ;  -while  the  third  class,  who  asked  no  questions 
at  all,  demanded  three  dollars  a  day  for  a  back 
parlor  alone,  without  the  privilege  of  putting  a 
sign  on  the  'house  or  the  door.  Now,  all  this  may 
be  very  aggravating,  when  it  is  absolutely  necessary 
that  one  should  have  a  place  upon  which  to  put  a 
sign  to  let  the  world  know  that  she  is  ready  to  try 
her  skill  upon  suffering  humanity ;  but  it  has  such  a 
strongly  ludicrous  side,  that  I  could  not  be  provoked, 
in  spite  of  all  the  fatigue  and  disappointment  of 
wandering  over  the  city,  when,  with  aching  limbs, 
I  commenced  the  search  afresh  each  morning,  with 
the  same  prospect  of  success.  I  finally  gave  up 
looking  for  a  room,  and  accepted  Dr.  Elizabeth 
Blackwell's  offer  to  occupy  her  back  parlor  (the 
front  one  serving  as  her  own  office)  ;  of  which  I 
took  possession  on  the  17th  of  April. 

Meanwhile,  I  had  regularly  attended  the  Thurs- 
day fair-meetings ;  wondering  how  persons  could 
afford  to  meet  to  so  little  purpose.  There  was 
scarcely  any  life  in  these  gatherings  ;  and,  when  I 
saw  ladies  come  week  after  week  to  resume  the 
knitting  of  a  baby's  stocking  (which  was  always 
laid  aside  again  in  an  hour  or  two,  without  any 
marked  progress),  I  began  to  doubt  whether  the 
sale  of  these  articles  would  ever  bring  ten  thousand 


154  A  PRACTICAL  ILLCSTRATIOX   OF 

cents,  instead  of  the  ten  thousand  dollars  which  it 
was  proposed  at  the  first  meeting  to  raise  in  order 
to  buy  a  house.  I  used  to  say  on  Wednesday, 
"  To-morrow  we  have  our  fair-meeting.  I  wonder 
whether  there  will  be,  as  usual,  two  and  a  half  per- 
sons present,  or  three  and  three-quarters." 

I  grew  at  length  heartily  sick  of  this  kind  of 
effort,  and  set  about  speculating  what  better  could 
be  done.  The  idea  occurred  to  me  to  go  from 
house  to  house,  and  ask  for  a  dime  at  each,  which, 
if  given,  would  amount  to  ten  dollars  a  day ;  and, 
with  the  money  thus  collected  daily  for  half  a  year, 
to  establish  a  nucleus  hospital,  which,  as  a  fixed 
fact,  should  stimulate  its  friends  to  further  assist- 
ance. 

I  took  my  note-book,  and  wrote  out  the  whole 
plan,  and  also  calculated  the  expenses  of  such  a 
miniature  hospital  as  I  proposed ;  including  furni- 
ture, beds,  household  utensils ;  every  thing,  in  short, 
that  was  necessary  in  such  an  institution.  "With 
this  book,  which  I  still  have  in  my  possession,  I 
went  one  evening  into  Dr.  Black  well's  parlor,  and, 
seating  myself,  told  her  that  /  could  not  work  any 
longer  for  the  fair  in  the  way  that  the  ladies  were 
doing ;  and  then  read  my  plan  to  her,  which  I  advo- 
cated long  and  earnestly.  She  finally  agreed  with 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  155 

me  that  it  would  be  better  speedily  to  establish  a 
small  hospital  than  to  wait  for  the  large  sum  that 
had  been  proposed ;  though  she  did  not  approve  of 
the  scheme  of  the  dime  collection,  fearing  that  I 
would  not  only  meet  with  great  annoyances,  but 
would  also  injure  my  health  in  the  effort.  At  that 
time,  after  some  discussion,  I  agreed  with  her  : 
now  I  think  that  this  plan  would  have  been  better 
than  that  which  I  afterwards  followed.  On  the 
same  evening,  I  proposed,  and  we  agreed,  that,  on 
a  year  from  that  day  (the  1st  of  May,  1857),  the 
New -York  Infirmary  should  be  opened. 

I  went  to  rest  with  a  light  heart,  but  rose  sor- 
rowfully in  the  morning.  "  In  one  year  from 
to-day,  the  Infirmary  must  be  opened,"  said  I  to 
myself;  "and  the  funds  towards  it  are  two  pairs 
of  half-knit  babies'  stockings."  The  day  was  passed 
in  thinking  what  was  the  next  best  scheme  to  raise 
money  for  its  foundation.  At  length  I  remembered 
my  visit  to  Boston,  and  some  friends  there  whose 
influence  might  help  me  to  beg  for  an  institution  for 
American  women.  For  myself  I  could  never  have 
begged ;  I  would  sooner  have  drowned  myself: 
now  I  determined  to  beg  money  from  Americans  to 
establish  an  institution  for  their  own  benefit.  This 
plan  was  disclosed  to  Dr.  Blackwell,  and  agreed 


156  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OP 

upon,  as  there  was  nothing  risked  in  it ;  I  taking 
the  whole  responsibility. 

On  the  next  day,  the  fair-meeting  was  held  at 
Dr.  BlackwelTs.  The  new  plan  was  brought  for- 
ward ;  and,  although  it  was  as  yet  nothing  but  a 
plan,  it  acted  like  a  warm,  soft  rain  upon  a  field 
after  a  long  drought.  The  knitting  and  sewing 
(for  which  I  have  a  private  horror  under  all  con- 
ditions) were  laid  aside,  to  my  great  relief;  and  the 
project  was  talked  of  with  so  much  enthusiasm,  that 
I  already  saw  myself  in  imagination  making  my 
evening  visits  to  the  patients  in  the  New- York  In- 
firmary ;  while  all  the  members  present  (and  there 
were  unusually  many ;  I  think,  six  or  seven)  dis- 
cussed the  question  the  next  day  among  their  circles 
of  friends,  whether  Henry  Ward  Beecher  or  a  phy- 
sician of  high  standing  should  make  the  opening 
speech  in  the  institution. 

This  excitement  increased  the  interest  exceed- 
ingly, and  the  succeeding  meetings  were  quite  en- 
thusiastic. The  babies'  stockings  were  never  again 
resumed  (don't  think  that,  because  I  detested  those 
stockings  so  much,  I  am  cruel  enough  to  wish  the 
little  creatures  to  go  barefoot)  ;  but  plans  were 
made  for  raising  money  in  New  York,  and  for  get- 
ting articles  for  sale  on  a  larger  scale.  Dr.  Black- 


"WOMAN'S  EIGHT  TO  LABOR."  157 

well  wrote  to  her  sister,  Dr.  Emily  Blackwell,  who 
was  at  that  time  studying  in  England,  requesting 
her  to  make  collections  among  their  friends  in  that 
country ;  which  she  did  with  success. 

After  having  thus  thoroughly  impressed  the  pub- 
lic mind  with  the  idea  that  the  Infirmary  must  be 
opened,  we  began  to  look  about  for  a  suitable 
house.  In  autumn,  I  went  to  Boston  to  see  what 
aid  could  be  obtained  there.  I  cannot  tell  you 
here  in  what  manner  I  became  acquainted  with  a 
circle  of  noble  women,  who  had  both  means  and 
the  disposition  to  employ  them  for  such  a  purpose : 
it  suffices  to  say,  that  I  interested  them  in  the  un- 
dertaking, and  obtained  a  hundred  dollars  towards 
the  expenses  of  the  fair,  together  with  a  promise 
of  a  large  table  of  fancy-goods,  and  an  invitation 
to  come  again  in  case  any  further  aid  was  needed. 
At  the  end  of  three  weeks,  I  left  Boston  for  Phila- 
delphia ;  but  here  I  was  not  successful,  as  all  who 
were  interested  in  the  medical  education  of  women 
contributed  largely  already  to  the  Philadelphia 
College.  A  small  table  of  fancy-goods  was  the 
result  of  my  visit  there.  The  money  and  promise 
of  goods  that  I  received  in  Boston  stimulated  our 
friends  in  New  York  to  such  a  degree,  that,  in  spite 
of  Dr.  Elizabeth  BlackwelTs  doubts  as  to  whether 


158  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OP 

we  should  cover  the  expenses,  the  fair  realized  a 
thousand  dollars.  Yet  this  was  not  half  sufficient 
to  commence  the  proposed  hospital ;  and  I  there- 
fore proposed  to  Dr.  Elizabeth  Blackwell  that  I 
should  go  on  another  begging  tour  through  New 
England,  while  she  and  her  sister  (Dr.  Emily 
Blackwell,  who  had  arrived  from  England  a  week 
before  the  fair)  should  arrange  matters  in  New 
York,  where  they  had  more  acquaintances  than  I. 
I  went  for  the  second  time  to  Boston  in  February, 
and  met  with  unexpected  success ;  bringing  back 
about  six  hundred  dollars  in  cash,  with  promises 
of  a  like  sum  for  the  ensuing  two  years.  I  had 
represented  our  scheme  as  a  three-years'  experi- 
ment. In  the  mean  time,  the  Drs.  Blackwell  had 
hired  a  large,  old-fashioned  house,  No.  64,  Bleeker 
Street,  which  we  had  looked  at  together,  and  which 
was  very  well  suited  to  our  purpose,  devoting  the 
rest  of  their  time  chiefly  to  endeavors  to  interest 
the  Legislature  in  our  enterprise ;  the  result  of 
which  was,  that,  though  nothing  was  granted  us 
that  spring,  the  next  winter,  when  we  could  show 
our  institution  in  operation,  the  usual  dispensary 
grant  was  extended  to  us. 

On  the  3d   of  April,  I  returned  from  Boston, 
and  almost  immediately  went  to  work  with  some 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  159 

of  our  lady-managers  to  order  beds  and  to  furnish 
the  house  and  dispensary,  and  also  to  superintend 
the  internal  changes.  After  five  weeks  of  hard 
work,  I  had  the  pleasure,  on  the  15th  of  May,  1857, 
of  listening  in  the  wards  of  the  New- York  Infirm- 
ary to  the  opening  speeches  delivered  by  the  Rev. 
Henry  "Ward  Beecher,  Dr.  Elder,  and  Rev.  Dudley 
Tyng. 

A  few  days  afterwards,  I  admitted  the  first  house- 
patient  and  opened  the  dispensary,  which  I  attended 
two  days  in  the  week  ;  Drs.  Elizabeth  and  Emily 
Blackwell  taking  charge  of  it  for  the  remaining 
four  days.  I  had  offered  two  years'  gratuitous 
services  as  my  contribution  to  the  Infirmary,  re- 
maining there  not  only  as  resident  physician,  but 
also  as  superintendent  of  the  household  and  gene- 
ral manager ;  and  attending  to  my  private  prac- 
tice during  the  afternoon.  The  institution  grew 
rapidly,  and  the  number  of  dispensary  patients 
increased  to  such  an  extent,  that  the  time  from 
seven  in  the  morning  until  one  in  the  afternoon 
was  wholly  occupied  in  the  examination  of  cases. 
In  the  second  year  of  the  existence  of  the  Infirma- 
ry, the  state  of  Dr.  Elizabeth  Blackwell's  health 
compelled  her  to  go  to  Europe  :  and  for  nine  months 
Dr.  Emily  Blackwell  and  I  took  charge  of  the 


160  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

business,  which  at  this  time  was  considerable ; 
the  attendance  at  the  dispensary  averaging  sixty 
daily. 

During  the  course  of  this  year,  I  received  letters 
from  some  of  the  Trustees  of  the  New-England 
Female  Medical  College  in  Boston,  inquiring 
whether  I  were  inclined  to  take  charge  of  a  hos- 
pital in  connection  with  that  institution.  A  con- 
sultation on  the  subject  with  Drs.  Elizabeth  and 
Emily  Blackwell  seemed  to  prove  to  us,  that  by 
doing  this,  and  helping  the  college  to  attain  its 
objects,  we  could  probably  best  aid  the  cause  of 
the  medical  education  of  women.  After  hesitating 
for  a  long  time  what  course  to  pursue,  I  went  to 
Boston  in  the  spring  of  1859,  in  order  to  define  in 
a  public  address  my  views  and  position  in  respect 
to  the  study  of  medicine.  I  found  so  great  a  desire 
prevailing  for  the  elevation  of  the  institution  to  the 
standard  of  the  male  medical  colleges,  and  such 
enthusiasm  in  respect  to  the  proposed  hospital,  that 
I  concluded  at  once  to  leave  the  Infirmary ;  Dr. 
Elizabeth  Blackwell's  absence  having  proved  that 
it  could  be  sustained  by  two,  not  only  without  loss, 
but  with  a  steady  increase,  secured  by  the  good 
done  by  its  existence.  Having  fulfilled  my  promise 
of  two  years  to  the  institution,  on  the  5th  of  June, 


"WOMAN'S  EIGHT  TO  LABOR."  1G1 

1859, 1  left  for  Boston,  where  I  am  now  striving  to 
make  the  hospital-department  as  useful  as  the  New- 
York  Infirmary  is  to  the  public  and  the  students. 

Now,  my  dear  Mary,  you  may  think  me  very 
long  in  my  story,  especially  in  the  latter  part,  of 
which  you  know  much  already ;  but  I  could  not 
refrain  from  writing  fully  of  this  part  of  my  life, 
which  has  been  the  object  of  all  my  undertakings, 
and  for  which  I  have  borne  trials  and  overcome 
difficulties  which  would  have  crushed  nine  out  of 
ten  in  my  position.  I  do  not  expect  that  this  will 
be  the  end  of  my  usefulness  ;  but  I  do  expect  that  I 
shall  not  have  to  write  to  you  any  more  of  my  do- 
ings. It  was  simply  in  order  that  you,  my  friend, 
should  understand  me  fully,  and  because  you  have 
so  often  expressed  a  wish  to  know  my  life  before 
we  mel,  that  I  finished  this  work.  Now  you  have 
me  externally  and  internally,  past  and  present : 
and  although  there  have  been  many  influences  be- 
sides which  have  made  their  impressions  on  my 
peculiar  development,  yet  they  are  not  of  a  nature 
to  be  spoken  of  as  facts ;  as,  for  instance,  your 
friendship  for  me. 

On  looking  back  upon  my  past  life,  I  may  say 
that  I  am  like  a  fine  ship,  that,  launched  upon  high 
11 


162  A   PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OF 

seas,  is  tossed  about  by  the  winds  and  waves,  and 
steered  against  contrary  currents,  until  finally  strand- 
ed upon  the  shore,  where,  from  the  materials,  a  small 
boat  is  built,  just  strong  enough  to  reach  the  port 
into  which  it  had  expected  to  enter  with  proud- 
ly swelling  sails.  But  this  ambition  is  entirely 
gone  ;  and  I  care  now  very  little  whether  the  people 
recognize  what  is  in  me  or  not,  so  long  as  the  ob- 
ject for  which  I  have  lived  becomes  a  reality. 

And  now,  my  good  friend,  I  must  add  one  wish 
before  I  send  these  last  few  pages  to  you  ;  namely, 
that  I  may  be  enabled  some  day  to  go  with  you  to 
Berlin,  to  show  you  the  scenes  in  which  my  child- 
hood and  youth  were  passed,  and  to  teach  you  on 
the  spot  the  difference  between  Europe  and  Ameri- 
ca. All  other  inducements  to  return  have  vanished. 
The  death  of  my  father  during  the  last  year  se- 
vered the  last  tie  that  bound  me  to  my  native  place. 
Nearly  all  the  men  who  aided  in  promoting  my 
wishes  have  passed  away ;  and  the  only  stimulus 
that  now  remains  to  revisit  the  home  of  my  youth 
is  the  wish  to  wander  about  there  with  you,  and 
perhaps  two  or  three  other  of  my  American  friends. 
Until  this  can  be  accomplished,  I  hope  to  continue 
my  present  work  in  the  New-England  Female 
Medical  College,  which,  though  by  no  means  yet 


"WOMAN'S   RIGHT   TO   LABOR."  163 

what  we  wish  it  to  be,  is  deserving  of  every  effort 
to  raise  it  to  the  stand  that  it  ought  to  take  among 
the  medical  institutions  of  America. 

Yours  with  love, 

MARIE  E.  ZAKRZEWSKA. 
BOSTON,  September,  1859. 


The  sweet,  pure  song  has  ended.  Happy  she 
who  has  been  permitted  to  set  its  clear,  strong  notes 
to  music.  I  need  not  murmur  that  my  own  old 
hand-organ  grows  useless,  since  it  has  been  per- 
mitted to  grind  out  the  key.  Yet  Marie's  story  is 
told  so  modestly,  and  with  so  much  personal  reserve, 
that,  for  the  sake  of  the  women  whom  we  are  both 
striving  to  help,  I  must  be  forgiven  for  directing 
the  public  attention  to  a  few  of  its  points. 

In  all  respects,  the  "  little  blind  doctor "  of  the 
story  is  the  Marie  Zakrzewska  that  we  know. 
The  early  anecdotes  give  us  the  poetic  impressi- 
bility and  the  enduring  muscular  fibre,  that  make 
themselves  felt  through  the  lively,  facile  nature. 
The  voice  that  ordered  the  fetters  taken  off  of  crazy 
Jacob  is  the  voice  we  still  hear  in  the  wards  of  the 
hospital.  But  that  poetic  impressibility  did  not 


164  A  PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION   OP 

run  wild  with  crazy  fancies  when  she  was  left  to 
sleep  on  the  floor  of  the  dead-house :  the  same 
strong  sense  controlled  it  that  started  the  "  tassel 
manufactory"  in  New  York,  where  it  had  been 
meant  to  open  a  physician's  office.  Only  thirteen 
years  old  when  she  left  school,  she  had  but  little  aid 
beside  a  steady  purpose  in  preparing  for  her  career. 
We  hear  of  her  slatternly  habits ;  but  who  would 
ever  guess  them,  who  remembers  the  quiet,  tasteful 
dress  of  later  years  ? 

How  free  from  all  egotism  is  the  record !  The 
brain-fever  which  followed  her  attendance  on  her 
two  aunts  is  mentioned  as  quietly  as  if  it  were  a 
sprained  foot.  Who  of  us  but  can  see  the  wearing- 
away  of  nervous  energy  which  took  place  with 
the  perpetual  care  of  a  cancer  and  a  somnambu- 
list, pressed  also  by  the  hard  reading  suggested 
by  Dr.  Arthur  Liitze  ?  Berlin  educated  the  second 
La  Chapelle ;  but  it  was  for  America,  not  Germany. 
The  dreadful  tragedy  of  Dr.  Schmidt's  death  is 
hardly  dwelt  upon  long  enough  to  show  its  full 
effects,  so  fearful  is  our  friend  of  intruding  a  per- 
sonal matter. 

When  "  Woman's  Right  to  Labor  "  was  printed, 
many  persons  expressed  their  regret  that  so  little 
was  said  about  sin  and  destitution  in  Boston  itself; 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  165 

and  many  refused  to  believe  that  every  pit-fall  and 
snare  open  in  the  Old  World  gaped  as  widely  here. 
"You  have  only  the  testimony  of  the  girls  them- 
selves," they  would  reply,  when  I  privately  told 
them  what  I  had  not  thought  it  wise  to  print.  I 
have  never  regretted  yielding  to.  the  motives  which 
decided  me  to  withhold  much  that  I  knew.  "  If 
they  believe  not  Moses  and  the  prophets,  neither 
would  they  believe  though  one  rose  from  the  dead," 
said,  of  old,  the  divine  voice  ;  and  the  hearts  that 
were  not  touched  by  what  I  thought  it  fit  to  tell 
would  never  have  been  stirred  to  energy  by  fuller 
revelations. 

In  these  pages,  authenticated  by  a  pure  and  cul- 
tivated woman,  who  holds  a  high  position  among 
us,  every  fact  at  which  I  hinted  is  made  plain  ;  and 
here  no  careless  talker  may  challenge  the  record 
with  impunity.  Here,  as  in  New  York,  smooth- 
faced men  go  on  board  the  emigrant-ship,  or  the 
steerage  of  the  long-expected  steamer ;  here,  as 
there,  they  make  friendly  offers  and  tell  plausible 
lies,  which  girls  who  have  never  walked  the  streets 
of  Berlin  at  night,  nor  seen  the  occupants  of  a  hos- 
pital-ward at  the  Charite,  can  hardly  be  expected 
to  estimate  at  their  just  worth.  The  stories  which 
I  have  told  of  unknown  sufferers  are  here  repeated. 


166  A   PRACTICAL   ILLUSTRATION  OF 

The  grand  -  daughter  of  Krummachcr  marries  a 
poor  shoemaker  to  save  herself  from  vice,  and 
poor  German  Mary  drowns  herself  in  the  Hudson 
because  she  feels  herself  a  burden  on  a  heartless 
brother.  Better  far  to  sink  beneath  its  waves 
than  beneath  the  more  remorseless  flood  which 
sweeps  over  all  great  cities.  Now,  when  the  story 
of  the  Water -street  cap -makers  is  told,  to  be 
matched  by  many  another  in  Boston  itself,  it  is  no 
longer  some  ignorant,  half-trained  stranger  who 
tells  the  story,  but  the  capable,  skilled  woman, 
who,  educated  for  better  things,  made  tassels  and 
coiffures,  and  accepted  commissions  in  embroidery, 
till  the  merchants  were  convinced  that  here,  indeed, 
was  a  woman  without  reproach.  Water-street 
merchants  would  do  well  to  remember  hereafter  that 
the  possibilities  of  a  Zakrzewska  lie  hidden  in  every 
oppressed  girl,  and  govern  themselves  accordingly. 
Think  of  this  accomplished  woman,  able  to  earn  no 
more  than  thirty-six  cents  a  day,  —  a  day  sixteen 
hours  long,  which  finished  a  dozen  caps  at  three 
cents  each !  "What,  then,  must  become  of  clumsy 
and  inferior  work-women  ?  Think  of  it  long  and 
patiently,  till  you  come  to  see,  as  she  bids  you, 
the  true  relation  between  the  idleness  of  women 
and  money  in  the  Fifth  Avenue  and  the  hunted 


"WOMAN'S  RIGHT  TO  LABOR."  167 

squalor  of  women  without  money  at  the  Five  Points. 
"Women  of  Boston,  the  parallel  stands  good  for 
you.  Listen,  and  you  may  hear  the  dull  murmur  of 
your  own  "  Black  Sea,"  as  it  surges  against  your 
gateway. 

Hasten  to  save  those  whom  it  has  not  yet  over- 
whelmed. Believe  me  that  many  of  them  are  as 
pure  and  good  as  the  babes  whom  you  cradle  in 
cambric  and  lace.  If  you  will  not  save  them, 
neither  shall  you  save  your  own  beloved  ones  from 
the  current  which  undermines  like  a  "  back-water" 
your  costliest  churches,  your  most  sacred  homes. 

CAROLINE  H.  BALL. 
OCT.  29, 1860. 


L'ENVOI. 

"  Unbarred  be  all  your  gate*,  and  opened  wide, 
Till  she  who  honors  women  shall  come  In  ! " 


DAMTI:  Sonnet  xx. 


73 


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